Seoul [South Korea], October 2 : Korean Air Lines Co. has said it will work with U.S. defence unicorn Anduril Industries Inc. to develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered wildfire response system using drones, according to a report by Pulse, the English service of Maeil Business Newspaper Korea.
The initiative aims to overcome the limitations of conventional wildfire response, which has relied heavily on human surveillance and deployment. By integrating AI, the system will continuously monitor wildfire risks and dispatch drones immediately upon detecting ignition.
Under the partnership, Korean Air and Anduril will jointly develop an integrated solution for large-scale wildfire prevention and response. This collaboration expands on the two companies' technology agreement signed in August to cooperate in the unmanned aerial vehicle sector in Korea and the Asia-Pacific region, now extended into global social responsibility efforts," the report said.
The solution combines Korean Air's drone development expertise with Anduril's AI-driven command-and-control platform, Lattice. The system operates by analyzing data collected 24/7 from distributed sensors such as aerial, ground, and satellite, to detect early signs of wildfires. Once a fire is confirmed, the system automatically alerts authorities and, through Lattice, autonomously assesses the scale and status of the fire to dispatch Korean Air drones, said the report.
The deployed drones will conduct missions such as dropping fire suppressants to support rapid initial containment.
If commercialized, the system is expected to transform wildfire response paradigms. "Currently, wildfire detection and initial countermeasures can take anywhere from tens of minutes to several hours, often resulting in lost opportunities for early containment," the report noted. With AI-driven monitoring and immediate drone deployment, the spread of fires can be curbed before becoming unmanageable.
Quoting a Korean Air official, the report said that the company has long sought ways to leverage its unique UAV development and operational capabilities to address global challenges, adding that the new partnership would strengthen manpower-centered wildfire response systems and help prevent large-scale wildfires.
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