Military & Aerospace Electronics reported on July 23rd that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, has awarded a contract to American Aerospace Technologies in West Conshohocken to help monitor wildfires across the United States. To do this, American Aerospace Technologies will utilize high-altitude, long-endurance, unmanned aircraft.

From the article:

Under the agreement, AATI will operate its AiRanger aircraft, or a comparable uncrewed platform, to collect critical atmospheric and remote sensing data over active wildland fires. The flights are scheduled for up to 96 hours over a 14-day period between February and April 2026. The missions support NASA’s Earth Science Division and its FireSense Project, which aims to improve wildfire detection, monitoring, and response through advanced aerial surveillance technologies.

You can read the full article here.

Below is a video about the AiRanger aircraft.

Photo – National Aeronautics and Space Administration