Russian Aviation Prepares to Take a New Approach to Fighting Wildfires
Russia recorded 8,900 wildfires in 2024, affecting 8.3 million hectares of forest. In 2025, another 6,800 fires burned across 4.3 million hectares. Despite significant progress in firefighting, much of it driven by advanced technology, the country has yet to bring this destructive force fully under control. Fighting wildfires takes more than powerful equipment: response time, accurate reconnaissance, and coordinated operations are just as important.
The Aerokhimflot aviation alliance and the Ural Civil Aviation Plant (UZGA) have unveiled Ogneborets (Firefighter), a new aerial firefighting system. It combines the capabilities of the LMS-901 Baikal light utility aircraft with fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
A Team Effort in the Sky
How does this aviation tandem work in practice? A drone flies over the fire, using both visible-light and infrared imaging to pinpoint active fire zones, track the direction in which the flames are spreading, and locate people and equipment. It streams this information in real time to a Baikal aircraft circling in a safe area. The pilot receives the exact coordinates of the fire, sees its boundaries, and drops fire suppressant precisely where it is needed most. The Baikal can also lay down lines of firefighting foam to create barriers that keep flames from spreading into new areas, and transport smokejumpers to designated locations. The aircraft and drone continuously exchange data over communication links.
The software combines all incoming data into a unified operational picture, generates a digital fire map, and helps the crew decide where to deploy resources. Navigation systems help each aircraft determine its position and avoid midair collisions.
Engineering Takes Flight
Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations uses the Be-200ChS amphibious aircraft and Il-76 transport aircraft equipped with VAP-2 aerial firefighting tanks to combat wildfires. The Be-200ChS can land on water and take on up to 12 metric tons of water directly from lakes and other bodies of water. The Il-76, by contrast, is loaded with fire suppressant at an airfield. But it carries a much larger payload: its two VAP-2 units can hold up to 42 metric tons.
Drones are also widely used to monitor wildfire conditions. Forestry agencies in nearly every Russian region have them, with the national fleet now numbering more than 2,000. The plan is to expand that fleet to more than 5,000 aircraft by 2030. By then, drones are expected to perform 25–30% of all aerial operations in forestry.
Avialesookhrana, Russia's national aerial forest protection service, and Geoscan are developing unmanned aircraft technologies that use artificial intelligence to monitor wildfire risks and detect fires. Geoscan, for example, has developed an onboard AI system for fire detection. Its neural network processes video directly on the drone, identifying active fires and smoldering areas and recording their coordinates. ZALA ZARYA drones are also being used for intelligent wildfire monitoring. Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations has begun deploying them. Their onboard IRRA hardware and software system automatically detects fire locations during flight and generates reports with precise coordinates.
The Digital Edge of Ogneborets
This year, UZGA flew another prototype of the LMS-901 with upgraded systems, but the aircraft is still undergoing flight testing. Developing a firefighting configuration is only part of the challenge. The team must also verify that the Ogneborets platform is safe to operate and can work reliably alongside drones. Another key task is establishing procedures for coordinated flights so the aircraft and UAVs do not create a collision risk. Crews and air traffic controllers will need clear operating protocols, including procedures for coordinating their actions during an actual wildfire.
For a country with Russia's vast forest areas, however, combining crewed and uncrewed aircraft could speed up wildfire reconnaissance and reduce risks to pilots. They would no longer have to enter dangerous areas before getting an initial assessment of conditions. Faster access to reliable information would allow crews to choose more precise firefighting tactics, increasing the chances of protecting communities and critical infrastructure.
