High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Aircraft
Forest Service staff is developing a solicitation for demonstration testing of HALE UAS for the 2020 fire year.
HALE Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Platforms
Commonly referred to as "drones" operate at elevations generally above civilian/commercial airspace (<45,000'). The technology is designed to remain over a designated geographic area for extended periods of time (weeks or months) by orbiting (winged designs) or floating (lighter than air balloons).
Platforms are engineered to accept a variety of customer designated payloads including imagery sensors and communication systems that are powered by solar panel charged batteries.
An integrated HALE UAS imaging and communications platform can loiter for weeks, months or the duration of the incident to provide significant benefits over currently available technologies.
