In fact, for the first time after several years, this test campaign will give the possibility to make available the aerial arrangements in the fight against forest fires in favor of the Department of Civil Protection, the State Forestry Corps and the Fire Brigade.
The Guardian, produced by the American firm Caylym, is an A-22 type fire-proof boat system, consisting of a wooden platform, an external container and a PVC casing, inside which a compound of water and FIRE retarding liquid is mixed. -TROLL 931.
The test activity involved an integrated team made up of personnel from the Experimental Flight Department (RSV), the 46th Pisa Air Brigade, the Fire Brigade, the PISQ, the company "Sp & a Ambiente", supplier of the FIRE-TROLL and Caylym company.
Tests of electromagnetic compatibility, mechanical integration, cargo area configuration, launch with three different techniques (manual cut, pulley, wireless release gate system) and measurement of the spatial dispersion of the liquid were carried out.
For the occasion, a special arena was set up at the PISQ, with 240 known GPS coordinate detectors and as many tubes for the collection of the retardant material and the determination of the relative density on the ground.
In all, 5 flight missions were successfully completed, with simultaneous release of up to 8 units from C-130J aircraft.
Thanks to the positive result of this test campaign, the RSV has successfully completed the activity that will allow to certify and authorize simultaneous transport and air-conditioning up to 16 tons of extinguishing material. This operational capacity is, at the moment, not available in Italy and rare even in the European panorama.
Source: Experimental Flight Department - Pratica di Mare (RM) - serg. Anna Mangiacapre
