Diamond Aircraft, which has a growing reputation for its special mission variants, has unveiled its DA62 Vanguard which is ideal for civil protection missions, according to Markus Fischer, director of the special missions aircraft division.

“Based on our DA62 platform, we have equipped the aircraft with several different sensors to be able to collect different types of data,” he told FINN. The aircraft features an electro optic infrared camera and a sensor with five different lenses to provide different quality pictures to ground troops during wildfire operations or for personnel recovery.

“The crew can be airborne for eight hours and deliver the data to the different ground troops using line-of-sight or beyond-line-of-site communications systems,” Fischer added.

By providing real-time data transfer, the DA62 Vanguard helps to route troops through difficult terrains and make them aware of fires on the spot when they have limited situational awareness. “We can look through the smoke and give the GPS coordinates to the troops to follow on their missions,” he explained.

Diamond Aircraft is hoping the DA62 Vanguard will enable countries to take a more proactive approach to wildfire operations as it enables vast areas to be covered before the hot season takes hold and mitigate the risk of wildfires starting or spreading.

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