Hydrogen Fueled UAV for Wildfire Fighting and Aerial Reconnaissance Coupled with Land Side Hydrogen Mobility

Abstract

This paper introduces a new unmanned aerial vehicle system coupled with ground assets, all based on hydrogen fuel, for forest firefighting and rescue missions. A new firefighting index for fire suppression is defined. According to this index, the new system performs about 40% better in terms of heat absorption, range and suppressant to take off weight. The main advantage is that during operational flight the water released from the onboard hydrogen fuel cell supplements the on-board water tank, cooled by an adsorption cycle using the waste heat of the fuel cell. H’g=specific heat hemp nanoparticles also help the heat absorption capacity of water. Oxygen absorption for fuel cells is another attribute. Nearly green hydrogen is produced on the ground base using solar, wind and geothermal energy. The system comprises a mother UAV and several drones, all operating on nearly green hydrogen engines. The mother UAV design incorporates full dedication of AI-based computers for night-time operations and performs risky flight profiles successfully with high-G maneuvers. Mini UAV swarms, mini helicopters and hybrid ground control vehicles complement the fire suppression and rescue missions. Land-side operations are performed by hybrid hydrogen vehicles compromising hovering tracks connected to the air-side operations with a system of systems approach.