MIKA Operations and Deployability
The MIKA system provides clear operational advantages for firefighters.
MIKA's speed of deployment and optimum use of resources are key for protecting vast areas as required by an effective CO2 minimization program.
MIKA is designed to put out fires without the need for ground troops. Even in relatively inhabited places, MIKA would put out a fire before an attack could be organized on the ground. For large territories, deploying troops on the ground is problematic, if not impossible.
Readiness and the airlifter's speed are key to reaching the operation theatre in the shortest amount of time. The ejected UAVs are then directed along the fire front, diverted as needed to extinguish spot fires. MIKA's precision minimizes the quantity of water required to put out the fires (maximizing efficiency and minimizing the number of sorties required).
Airborne Tactical Command: Fire suppression is conducted by the Fire Chief, provided with all necessary facilities, on the Airborne Tactical Command airplane that loiters over the operation theatre.
The air traffic, in the absence of any traditional ATC facilities, would be coordinated by a computerized Air Traffic Director, located onboard the ATC airplane. The ATD is designed to coordinate a high traffic density with tight separation between movements on the standby aerodromes.
Coordination with any ground firefighters (i.e. - for protecting, coordinating, and controlling evacuation routes), is assisted online by the personnel at the Coordination Centers.
Coordination Centers: MIKA’s data-link systems allows the operations to be assisted by experts located at a Coordination Center. Following a detection, the assets are directed to the evolving fire, and then redirected for continuous operations from the aerodromes closest to the operation theatre.
The coordination centers will be equipped to handle big data including weather, vegetation condition and terrain, data on the communities or eco-zones to be protected, as well as the available firefighting resources within a territory. The coordination centers will be equipped with high computing power to provide fire progression data during operations which will be frequently updated by the data provided from all the surveillance capabilities operating over the theatre.
The coordination centers are responsible for setting priorities. There will be an expedited protocol of communication with the aeronautical authorities for obtaining the necessary exclusion zones over the theatre and reserving the routes between the fire theatre and the standby bases. The Coordination Center will also be responsible for the location and seasonal re-location of the aerial assets.
Airlifters and the MIKA UAVs: The UAV’s compact folding design and easily adaptable ejection system makes it compatible with any rear-door airlifter. Rugged military airlifters (e.g C130, KC390) that could operate from 3,500-4,500 ft unpaved runways come naturally as airlifters of choice.. Depending on the specific model, a C130 could transport and eject 5 or 6 MIKA UAVs in rapid sequence, delivering up to 18 tons of water on a quickly expanding wildfire.
The Airlifter's high speed allows for an effective area of coverage even for standby operating bases dispersed up to 150-200 miles apart. Creating a network of dispersed bases is key for covering vast areas (like Alaskan, Siberian, Amazonian, and other forests of planetary interest).
The MIKA system is designed to be operated from remote, basic aerodromes requiring a minimum number of personnel and equipment. For example, a vast area like Siberia (contributing 450 million tons of CO2 yearly) could be defended by just 90 basses.
