A new collaboration in Andalucia, Spain, is showing how drones equipped with precision wind sensors can make a real difference in wildfire management—especially after dark. Unmanned Systems Technology told us about it.
Fighting Fire with Wind Data
In southern Spain, wildfires are a yearly challenge. And while weather stations provide data during the day, their readings often come from kilometers away. Once the sun goes down, manned aircraft are grounded, leaving firefighters in the dark—literally and figuratively—about how the wind is moving through the fire zone.
That’s where FT Technologies’ ultrasonic wind sensor came in. Installed on a drone built by Dronetools SL, the sensor provided real-time wind data to help AMAYA and INFOCA, the region’s wildfire management agencies, predict and plan nighttime firefighting operations.
The Project in Action
Before being sent into live fire zones, the drone-mounted system was tested at a height of 15 meters. Engineers compared its readings with those from a standard weather station. The results? Practically identical. That gave the green light for night missions during the summer fire season and now we are seeing the results.
Across four separate wildfire events, the drone collected wind data at different altitudes, mapping how gusts shifted across the landscape. This localized, up-to-the-minute information gave emergency teams a clearer picture of fire behavior and helped them plan tactical actions like controlled burns or perimeter defenses.
Javier Prada Delgado, Integration Engineer at Dronetools SL, summed it up: “The sensor worked accurately in real fire situations. The drone, equipped with the FT wind sensor, was an indispensable tool for predicting the advance of the fire at night.”
A Smarter Way to Fight Wildfires
The experiment proved that drones can safely operate in nighttime conditions and provide data that manned aircraft can’t. Instead of relying solely on distant weather stations, fire commanders now have the option to get direct, on-the-spot wind readings from above the flames.
This kind of aerial intelligence could soon become standard in firefighting. With climate change making fire seasons longer and more unpredictable, smart tools like these could save both forests and lives.
DroneXL’s Take
This test in Andalucia shows how far drone tech has come. Pairing reliable sensors with unmanned aircraft gives firefighters a powerful edge, especially when nightfall usually means grounding all eyes in the sky. Expect to see more systems like this become essential gear for fire management teams worldwide—because knowing where the wind blows can make all the difference when you’re fighting fire. Great work from this pilots in Spain, elevating the standards for the rest of the world.
Photo credit: AMAYA Youtube
