Reuters
Cailabs is launching a shared optical ground-station service, while ICEYE and Arianespace will evaluate Ariane 6 for sovereign SAR missions. Poland’s EYCORE has released first imagery from its domestic radar satellite, and OroraTech will deploy up to 96 infrared sensors on future Eutelsat LEO satellites.
Aerial Firefighting
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Cailabs is launching a shared optical ground-station service, while ICEYE and Arianespace will evaluate Ariane 6 for sovereign SAR missions. Poland’s EYCORE has released first imagery from its domestic radar satellite, and OroraTech will deploy up to 96 infrared sensors on future Eutelsat LEO satellites.
Indonesia’s president has designated the former Italian navy carrier ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi as a floating fire station as it sails toward the country. Firefighting will be an early operational mission for Indonesia’s first aircraft carrier, adding an emergency-response role to its naval deployment.
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The Exploration Company has raised $450 million in a Series C round, which it describes as the largest-ever Series C for a European space company. The financing brings its total funding to approximately $680 million as it advances reusable spacecraft intended to challenge SpaceX.
Kepplair has started converting ATR 72 regional airliners into water bombers, with an aircraft completing a pre-modification flight in Toulouse. The effort repurposes an established turboprop platform for aerial firefighting missions and marks the beginning of the modification program.
French firm Kepplair is preparing an ATR 72 conversion for aerial firefighting and expects to obtain supplemental type certification for the modification in 2027. The project would adapt the turboprop platform for a specialized mission, subject to certification approval.
Austrian operator Kitz-Air has acquired three Airbus H225 heavy-lift helicopters from Milestone Aviation Group, expanding its fleet for specialized aerial firefighting missions. The transaction is Kitz-Air’s first with the helicopter lessor and supports its plans to strengthen firefighting capabilities globally.
Indonesia has intensified ground and aerial firefighting across four provinces as drought and a prolonged dry season fuel fires in forests and peatlands, sending haze into Malaysia. Malaysia is preparing cloud-seeding operations near shared borders, while Indonesia plans to open airspace to support the effort.
French start-up Hynaero is developing a new water-bombing aircraft intended as an alternative to the Canadair platform. Rising wildfire activity across Europe is strengthening the case for additional aerial firefighting capacity and could create an opportunity for a new regional aircraft program.
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