Advancing Aerial Firefighting: Metrea Demonstrates FIRESWIFT Across Southern Europe
Metrea is pleased to announce the successful completion of two aerial firefighting demonstrations showcasing FIRESWIFT, our advanced Aerial Firefighting platform, to a range of customers from Europe and North Africa. Conducted in Alghero, Sardinia, and Athens, Greece, the demonstrations were delivered for both national and regional authorities, highlighting FIRESWIFT’s unique Direct Attack and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance capabilities that place data collection and exploitation at the heart of modern aerial firefighting operations.
The Sardinia demonstration took place near Alghero, where FIRESWIFT was deployed in a simulated coastal wildfire scenario characterized by strong winds and rapidly shifting fire lines. Building on this, a second demonstration was conducted near Athens, Greece, where FIRESWIFT operated in a peri-urban environment defined by steep hillsides and dense vegetation.
During both demonstrations, FIRESWIFT conducted controlled water drops at predefined target locations, demonstrating its ability to deliver highly accurate direct attack using water, foam or retardant. Using the onboard EO/IR camera, the system quickly verified that target areas were clear and monitored drop effectiveness in real time. Between each drop, FIRESWIFT landed and reloaded, demonstrating a rapid five-minute turnaround, the ability to operate from short runways, and the speed required to reach target areas. This reinforced its suitability for deployment in support of both national and regional operations.
Throughout the demonstrations, the live camera feed was transmitted to a viewing area, providing real-time situational awareness to attendees as well as to regional firefighters on the ground. Ground personnel were able to access the live feed on mobile devices through Metrea’s secure and resilient cloud-hosted architecture.
Observers were able to track the drops as they occurred, reinforcing the value of integrated ISR in informing decision-making during firefighting operations. In addition to the live feed, observers witnessed the onboard Sensor Operator using multiple camera modes to see through smoke and conduct live perimeter mapping, while maintaining continuous coordination with ground elements via both voice and chat functionality.
Together, these demonstrations highlighted FIRESWIFT’s operational agility, precision and interoperability with existing firefighting assets. Across both locations, the aircraft demonstrated accurate suppression capability alongside the collection, dissemination and exploitation of real-time intelligence, delivering strong performance in challenging environments.
These demonstrations reinforce Metrea’s commitment to advancing next-generation aerial firefighting capabilities. FIRESWIFT combines precision suppressant delivery with integrated ISR, enabling real-time decision-making and coordination to significantly enhance the effectiveness of customer responses to increasingly complex wildfire scenarios.