THE 1ST SYSTEM CAPABLE OF EXTINGUISHING WILDFIRES
SOLVING A GLOBAL CRISIS
Over the last several decades, wildfires have grown to staggering proportions. The loss of human lives and the astronomic economic impact is a somber reality - "the new normal." The huge amount of CO2 they release also gets some mention, but the largest CO2 contributors do not come from the most notorious fires. Massive fires burn in remote areas like Alaska, the Amazon, and Siberia and generate astonishing amounts of greenhouse gasses.
It is estimated that wildfires add an additional 20% on top of the 42 Gigatons of annual anthropogenic global greenhouse gas emissions. That's approximately 8 Gigatons per year that have been ignored in our GHG reduction efforts.
These emissions create a feedback loop - they accelerate climate change, which in turn causes more frequent and more devastating wildfires, releasing even greater amounts of CO2 in an ever worsening cycle.
But not too much is being done. Current firefighting strategies and systems are built on decades old technologies, which are incapable of putting out a high-intensity wildfire. So firefighters can only try to "contain" the spread - conceding large swaths of forest in the effort. The devastation of the recent mega-fires in California, Australia, and Europe show how ineffective this approach is. A disruptive step is needed.
Putting out fast spreading wildfires is the mission of Project MIKA.
The implications of achieving it are massive - it's the fastest and easiest way to prevent 5% or more of greenhouse gas emissions. And it doesn't require any overhaul of transportation, industrial, or societal systems, which will take decades.
While wildfires are part of the natural cycle, climate change is having a major effect on their size, frequency, and duration. Correcting the damage already done requires a technology with the ability to protect life and property in populated areas as well as protecting important planetary forests that have no natural fire cycle and no natural fire defenses.
Project MIKA is the first end-to-end solution capable of extinguishing high-intensity wildfires - stopping major CO2 emitting events and preserving a forests ability to capture and store carbon.
21st Century Wildfire Management System
Effective Water Bombing
Current water bombing technologies are limited and ultimately ineffective for 2 Reasons:
1) Low Precision of Delivery (water misses the target) and
2) Low Concentration/Penetration (water disperses and evaporates before reaching the target).
The MIKA UAV, built with state-of-the-art technologies, can fly in any conditions (no more limitations due to zero visibility or difficult terrain) and uses a proprietary technology to put a high concentration of water on target - achieving the PRECISION, PENETRATION, and DENSITY required to actually put out a wildfire.
Versatile For Any Situation
The MIKA UAV is designed for versatility.
It is designed to be carried by rear-door airlifters (like a C130, C27, KC390, or A400) carrying multiple MIKA UAVs. The airlifters do not require modification. A coordinated drop can extinguish 300-600ft (100-200m) of fire line, or multiple dispersed targets in minutes. With 30-40 passes/hour MIKA can suppress 1.9-5 miles (3-8 km) of fire front per hour.
MIKA can address extreme fires through a steep dive approach to deliver an effective concentration of water wherever is optimal. The UAVs are ejected at high altitude such that operations are low risk and not contingent on current aviation limitations like aircraft safety, visibility, and maneuverability.
For less severe, fast-moving fires, the angle of attack and release altitudes can be altered to optimize the spread of water
Global Deployability
It is MIKA’s efficient use of water that makes putting out fires possible (true for California, and especially true for the wider regions to be protected).
Airlifters carry MIKA UAVs to the operation theatre and their high speed allows for an effective area of coverage even for standby operating bases dispersed up to 150-200 miles apart. The bases can be simple airfields with the necessary water, fuel reserves, and ground handling equipment.
MIKA removes the need to deploy ground firefighting units, a critical precondition. When defending vast areas like Alaska, the Amazon, and Siberia this is a critical capability. The precondition of any aerial firefighting system should be the capability to put the fire out.
THE NUMBERS
2 GIGATONS
Or 5% of global emissions
Targeted Reduction in Annual CO2 Emissions
It is MIKA’s mission-effectiveness and cost-effectiveness in covering vast forests that make it a valuable tool in the fight against climate change. MIKA is also the perfect tool to provide the security of preventive prescribed burnings, one of the most effective method to improve resilience. MIKA's aim is to remove 2+ Gigatons of CO2 Emissions, equivalent to: 40% US emissions, 20% China emissions, 250% Germany emissions, 200% Aviation emissions.
The IMF estimated it would cost $75/ton of CO2 to reshape the energy, transportation, and industrial sectors towards meeting the Paris Accord commitments for limiting warming to +2°C. Project MIKA is estimated to only cost $7/ton of CO2 (operating expenses + depreciation of assets). By comparison, the World Resources Institute estimated:
- reforestation/afforestation solution: $50/ton
- direct carbon capture: $250-$600/ton
$7 Per Ton
Not $75 Per Ton
Project MIKA Cost of Reducing CO2
$400 Billion
Cost of 2018 California Fires
What We Pay Using Current Technologies and Systems
According to Fox Business and AccuWeather, the cost to the California economy for the 2018 wildfire season was $400 Billion. Just managing the fires cost CalFire $3.5 Billion in emergency funds. The 2019 Australian fires are estimated to have cost $230 Billion and killed 1 Billion animals. In both cases, the firefighting systems, personnel, and technology were the most advanced the world currently has to offer.
The cost to develop, build, and deploy Project MIKA will cost less than half the projected cost to put just one man on Mars (apprx $500Bn). This includes building 16,000 MIKA UAVs, establishing 30-40 home bases and coordination centers, setting up about 1,500 standby bases on small existing aerodromes, and building 400 standby bases in remote forests. Most of the 1,000 airlifters could be existing, with multi-purpose roles, because there is no need to modify them. Even with all brand new airlifters, the price tag for MIKA's global deployment will be less than $200 Billion (less than the economic cost of 1 fire season in the US). Fun fact: Putting man on the moon cost the equivalent of $283 Bn in today's dollars.
$500 Billion
Cost to Put Man on Mars
MIKA Prevents Earth From Looking Like Mars
5 Years
vs. 10 Years vs. 25 Years
Time For MIKA's Deployment
Project MIKA's disruptive technology is made possible through a comprehensive approach utilizing recent advances in aerospace and defense. This means it could be initially deployed in just 5 years - much faster and with a much bigger impact than other climate technologies (like carbon capture). The UN IPCC commission estimates that we have just 10 years to take drastic action until it is no longer possible to limit warming to just 1.5°C. By way of comparison, if all new vehicles sold today were electric, it would take up to 25 years until all gas powered vehicles were off the road.
THE MIKA SYSTEM
A Review of the Camp Fire
On November 8, 2018 the Camp Fire ignited in Northern California. When it was finally extinguished 17 days later, it had blazed through 150,000 acres, 18,000 buildings, destroyed the city of Paradise, and took 85 human lives.
It was the deadliest, most destructive, and costliest wildfire in California's history...until the 2020 fire season.
MIKA's attack capabilities applied to the Camp Fire would look like this:
Thirty airlifters loaded with MIKA UAVs would be called into action from two of the 3-6 home bases protecting North America. Within 2 hours (85 acres burned) they drop the first 150 UAVs, or a total of 450 tons of water.
Drops are made along the downstream fire front in three in parallel lines, providing a 150ft (45m) wide fire break on the 2,500ft (750m) length of fire front. Some of the UAVs are directed towards breakout spot fires as they appear.
The airlifters continue to operate from the three closest standby bases (most likely Redding, Chico and Grass Valley). Drops are made at a rate of one airlifter pass (5 UAVs dropped) every 2 minutes, equating to 450 tons water dropped/hour. After the advancement of the fire is stopped, some of the airlifters patrol to attack random re-ignitions while others change their load (using a modular rack loading system) from MIKA UAVs to a MAFFS unit (Modular Aerial Fire Fighting System) for cooling down as required. Containment is achieved in 6-7 hours.
Through prompt and aggressive action, comprising 150-200 sorties dispensing 2,200 - 3,000 tons of water, the MIKA system could have limited the loss to just 600 acres (250 ha) burned and have full containment in under a day.
To realize this scenario, it would require having immediately available 30 airlifters, one Tactical Airborne Command plane, and sufficient water reserves and spare UAVs at the standby bases. It also requires early detection + early intervention + well coordinated operations + control systems for maximizing the airspace and aerodrome utilization.
The cost of the total involved flight hours is less than $3M, and the airlifters would be ready for any further action the following day. By comparison, the Camp Fire cost $16 Bn in both suppression cost and direct damage.
CONTACT
Inquiries
For any inquiries please email: info@mikafire.com
Project MIKA was initiated in California and is currently being developed in cooperation with the Netherlands Aerospace Center (NLR.org).
Contact Us
Employment
A MIKA focused entity is currently being formed.
Positions for our to be established office in Amsterdam:
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General manager (aviation background)
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Aerodynamics / Flight Dynamics
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Mechanical design, focus aerostructures
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Avionics
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Project management
To apply for a job with Project MIKA, please send a cover letter together with your C.V. to: info@mikafire.com