Iwa Robotics Unveils Autonomous Drone Fleet for Urban Wildfire Response

LOS ANGELES, Iwa Robotics, a Los Angeles-based autonomous field systems company, has unveiled a new autonomous drone fleet designed to address the challenges of urban wildfires. The company introduced three new platforms: HAWK, CANARY, and PELICAN. Each drone is equipped with unique capabilities, working together to detect, diagnose, and suppress wildfires.

HAWK, a long-endurance reconnaissance aircraft, serves as the first line of defense, providing real-time surveillance over large areas. CANARY, a sensing platform, diagnoses fires in real-time, optimizing crew engagement. PELICAN, an autonomous aerial suppression aircraft, is equipped to resolve hot spots and establish fire lines through perpetual drenching. Together, these drones operate under Iwa's Discovery and Resolution Fleet™ (DRF) framework, significantly enhancing the firefighting capabilities across the full lifecycle of urban wildfires.

Iwa's CEO, Mirza Samnani, emphasized the importance of crew safety in the company's design philosophy. "At its core, Iwa's platform is centered on enhancing crew safety with in-field tools to diagnose the threat and engage accordingly. This includes critical sensory data and personnel risk signals," he stated.

The technology was developed in collaboration with working fire crews, ensuring it meets the specific needs of those who use it. "From the start, our approach has been to work side by side with fire crews, learning directly from the people who know this best: field teams, drone pilots, and fire captains who understand both firefighting and drone controls inside and out. They told us what they needed, and we engineered it," Samnani added.

Iwa Robotics is now equipping fire agencies with a dedicated fleet of drones through its fleet-as-a-service model. This approach allows agencies to add aerial detection and remote suppression capabilities without requiring any upfront capital expenditure, training programs, or lengthy procurement cycles. The company is currently embarking on its second cross-country roadshow, with field demonstrations scheduled for fire and public safety agencies across eight states.

Iwa Robotics, Inc., operates NDAA-compliant drone fleets for wildfire response and emergency management. Its HAWK, CANARY, and PELICAN platforms work as a coordinated system to detect, diagnose, and suppress fires, delivered to public safety agencies as a managed service. The company's mission is to be above every emergency™.