On August 26th, 2026, CAURUS Technologies’ innovative sensor system for digitally guided aerial wildfire fighting lifted off for its first real firefighting mission in Norway. Flying with Norwegian helicopter operator Arctic Aviation during multiple tests, the sensor also mastered its first real deployment over fire above Norwegian forest well. It delivered georeferenced clear and thermal images of water drops over fire, tracked the drop location, measured water surface covered and other digital parameters.
Arctic Aviation provides aerial firefighting services for the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection under a long-term-contract. Given the vastness of Norwegian forests and limited ground access in the sparsely populated areas of the country, Thorsten Habla-Foss NP-Flight Operation, of Arctic Aviation approached CAURUS Technologies with a special need:
“With 22 helicopters and bases all over Norway we can reach fires quickly. Yet, fires often occur in very remote and hard to access areas. We still needed a system that reliably delivers situational awareness of the ground, the fire and the water drop from far away right into the control center. CAURUS Technologies’ sensor gave us an innovative digital eye on the fire situation and the impact of the water drop. Given this data, we can make better planning decisions.”
A milestone for CAURUS Technologies
The company has been testing the sensor functions in Norway since the end of July. Hooked directly underneath the helicopter, the sensor captured images of bucket filling from open water, layers of smoke, water drops, and most importantly, thermal images of the fire underneath the smoke. Philippe Telle, CEO of CAURUS Technologies, calls the first flight over fire a full success:
“We have reached another milestone. We can clearly see how difficult it is to see the ground at fire sources with all the smoke underneath. So having georeferenced thermal images that make the fire visible below the smoke, makes it easier to say whether water has successfully hit the flames and contained or suppressed the fire sufficiently.”
The new data will in the future feed into the drop prediction software which CAURUS Technologies is developing with Fraunhofer ITWM.
Testflights ongoing in countries with different climates
The sensor has so far been flying in more than three dozen test flights in five European countries. It was somewhat unexpected to see its first real firefighting mission in Norway. Yet, it clearly illustrates that large-scale wildfires today not only affect the hot and dry South. But increasingly also forests in countries with moister climates and cooler temperatures.
CAURUS Technologies will continue to work with Arctic Aviation on complementing and enhancing the sensor platform for the needs in Norway and beyond. With the aim to make this data and insights for missions available more regularly in the future.