In St. Petersburg, engineers have created and patented an aircraft for combating fires. The device will take off thanks to a spherical chamber with thermal insulation. To extinguish fires, it will use a directed jet of steam instead of a significant amount of water.
The apparatus is based on a lightweight, thermally insulated spherical chamber connected to a cargo or passenger compartment. Inside the compartment are a steam generator, a battery pack, a control system, and navigation equipment.
Lift is created by supplying steam to the chamber, and an additional increase in flight altitude is provided by a built-in heating element. For motion control, nozzles are provided that create reactive jets and allow changing the direction of flight and descending.
The main purpose of the apparatus is to deliver steam directly to the source of ignition. A pipe, directed at the fire, is connected to the steam generator through a special tee with a fire valve. According to the developers' plan, the telescopic design of the pipe will be able to extend when the extinguishing system is activated.
The creators believe that the use of steam will reduce water consumption during fire suppression. Hot steam acts in several ways at once: it reduces the oxygen concentration in the combustion zone, cools the surface, and helps mechanically knock down the flame.
The development is aimed at objects located far from water bodies, as well as areas with difficult operating conditions. Unlike fire-fighting aircraft and helicopters, the apparatus does not use traditional propeller engines, which require high energy consumption and can create additional air currents near the fire source.