The flame thrower mounted on the drone above looks scary as hell — even more so than the one being developed at the University of Nebraska that uses plastic spheres to ignite fires.

The aircraft below can carry a dry chemical fire extinguisher or a liquid.

Obviously neither of these appears to be practical in their current state, however I wonder what we might see in five to ten years.

One of the many obstacles to overcome is the rotor wash which would have a significant effect while either igniting a fire or trying to suppress it. This is not a problem for the University of Nebraska version since the plastic spheres only burst into flame about half a minute after being dispensed, after the helicopter has left the area.