Six Peregrine aircraft. One coordinated drop. A 1,000-foot continuous retardant barrier — delivered in a single pass, without a runway, without a pilot.
A C-130 MAFFS delivers 3,000 gallons per sortie — but it needs a 6,000-foot runway, costs $40,000 per flight hour, and takes 45 minutes to reload. When a fire crowns in a remote canyon at 2 AM, the tanker base is 200 miles away and the runway is closed.
The Peregrine Fire Swarm operates from any flat clearing. No runway. No fuel truck. No crew rest requirements. A six-aircraft swarm delivers 10,000 lb of retardant per coordinated pass and reloads from a tanker truck in 8 minutes — continuously, through the night, at the fire's edge.
The Fire Swarm uses a three-layer control architecture. Each layer is independently functional — the swarm degrades gracefully if any single layer is disrupted.
Each Peregrine navigates its assigned waypoint sequence, manages its own flight envelope (VRS protection, conversion corridor limits, icing detection), and executes its drop command independently. This layer requires no inter-aircraft communication — each aircraft can complete its mission even if the swarm network fails.
A single ground operator manages the swarm as a fleet — assigning drop zones, sequencing sorties, monitoring aircraft health, and adjusting the racetrack pattern as the fire line moves. The operator does not fly individual aircraft. The GCS handles all routing and conflict deconfliction automatically.
For maximum effectiveness, all aircraft in the swarm drop simultaneously along the fire line, creating a continuous retardant barrier rather than isolated wet spots. GPS-synchronized drop commands achieve < 1-second timing accuracy across all aircraft. Drop spacing is 200 ft between aircraft, creating a 1,000-ft barrier per 6-aircraft pass.
The racetrack pattern keeps three aircraft inbound to the fire line at all times while three return to the reload point. This maintains continuous suppression coverage with no gap between passes.
Swarm operations at this scale require a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) from the FAA, or operation under a federal agency authorization. The USFS and CAL FIRE are the right government partners for a swarm demonstration — both have active UAS integration programs and existing authority to authorize operations in active fire areas.
Active UAS integration program. Existing authority to authorize operations in National Forest fire areas. Primary target for Phase 1 demonstration partnership.
TARGET PARTNERLargest state wildfire agency. Operates 23 air attack bases statewide. Existing tanker truck infrastructure at each base is directly compatible with Peregrine gravity-fill reload.
TARGET PARTNERPart 107 does not cover swarm operations at this scale. A COA or BVLOS waiver is required. FAA has approved similar waivers for pipeline inspection and precision agriculture swarms.
REGULATORY PATHContact Helix to discuss a Fire Swarm demonstration partnership with your agency.