A new bipartisan bill aims to enhance NASA's Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response to Operations program, allowing firefighters to use drones more effectively in wildfire prevention and mitigation. Introduced by Reps. Mike Garcia and Jennifer McClellan, the bill seeks to improve aerial responses to wildfires by developing airspace management technologies to share information between crewed aircraft, drones, and ground crews.
The legislation would expand ACERO to include research and development of technologies for the coordination of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles during wildfire responses. The bill would also require the creation of a unified concept of operations for managing airspace during wildfires. By utilizing advanced aviation technologies, such as drones, firefighters can quickly detect and reach small or remote fires, improving response times and keeping firefighters safe.
NASA is collaborating with the Federal Aviation Administration to expand the ACERO program to develop new airspace access and traffic management technologies to support wildfire operations.
