TEKEVER and Phoenix Heli-Flight are bringing a new autonomous wildfire detection capability to live operations in Alberta, marking a significant step in the use of long-endurance uncrewed aircraft for environmental monitoring and emergency response in Canada.
Under a newly-confirmed contract, Fort McMurray-based Phoenix Heli-Flight will operate TEKEVER’s AR3 uncrewed aerial system to support wildfire hotspot detection and mapping. The aircraft will be integrated with specialist sensor technology and TEKEVER’s Nova Maps software platform, allowing information gathered in-flight to be processed, visualized, and delivered to wildfire agencies and incident commanders.
The deployment builds on a collaboration established in 2023 to develop advanced uncrewed capabilities for wildfire detection and response in Alberta. Following a successful evaluation, the program is now moving beyond testing and into operational service.
Alberta’s expansive geography, remote terrain and severe wildfire conditions can make sustained aerial monitoring difficult. Phoenix Heli-Flight said the AR3 is designed to provide extended coverage across areas where continuous observation can be operationally challenging.
“The AR3 helps provide a persistent airborne intelligence capability that complements existing wildfire aviation and ground response operations,” Cameron Spring, operations manager at Phoenix Heli-Flight, told Vertical Plus. “Alberta’s wildfire environment can be vast, remote and operationally demanding. Crewed aircraft, ground crews and existing detection methods remain essential, but there is a growing need for additional tools that can help identify areas of concern, monitor changing conditions and provide timely information without always requiring a crewed aircraft to be placed into the task.”
That distinction is central to the companies’ approach. The AR3 is not intended to replace helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft operating on wildfires. Instead, it is designed to handle long-duration intelligence, surveillance, and monitoring assignments while allowing traditional aviation assets to remain available for suppression, personnel transport, logistics, and other missions requiring onboard human judgement.
“Uncrewed systems should be seen as a complement to crewed aviation, not a replacement,” Spring said. “Helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft remain essential for many wildfire missions, including transport, suppression support, crew movement, logistics and operations where human judgement in the aircraft is critical.”
A New Layer of Aerial Awareness
The AR3 is designed to occupy the space between satellites, ground observation, and traditional aviation resources. Satellites can provide broad-area awareness, but their usefulness may be affected by cloud, smoke and the timing of orbital passes. Conventional aircraft offer flexibility and immediate human interpretation, but they are comparatively resource-intensive and may be better reserved for missions where their capabilities are most needed.
“The AR3 brings persistence, flexibility and real-time intelligence to wildfire response,” Paulo Ferro, VP of strategic development at TEKEVER, told Vertical Plus. “While crewed aircraft are vital, they are resource-intensive and best reserved for mission-critical tasks. Satellites offer wide-area coverage but can be limited by cloud, smoke and orbit times. The AR3 bridges this gap.”
The aircraft can carry specialist sensors into remote or difficult environments, gather tactical information and remain on station for extended periods. That endurance can help wildfire teams identify hotspots, monitor changing conditions, and build a clearer picture of activity before committing additional resources.
For the Alberta operation, the AR3 has been integrated with a Workswell sensor package suited to wildfire detection and monitoring. “The system combines the aircraft, payload, communications and software layer to support the collection and interpretation of timely information from the air,” Ferro said.
The precise sensor configuration can be adjusted according to the task, but the initial contract is specifically focused on hotspot detection and mapping. Spring said future applications could extend into wildfire patrols, early detection, active-fire monitoring and live video streaming, providing agencies with an increasingly detailed operational picture as the technology matures.
From Mission Tasking to Incident Command
A typical mission will begin with a defined task from a wildfire agency or incident command team. That assignment could involve searching a specific area, checking a suspected hotspot, mapping fire activity or monitoring a developing situation. Trained personnel will then plan the route, launch the AR3 and supervise the aircraft throughout the mission.
“The mission would then be planned, and the aircraft launched and operated by trained personnel,” said Spring. “During the flight, the onboard sensor package collects relevant information, which is then processed and presented through the supporting software tools. The aim is to move information from the aircraft to decision-makers as quickly and clearly as possible, so that wildfire teams can understand what is happening and decide what action is required.”
Although described as autonomous, the AR3 does not remove human operators from the process. The aircraft can conduct pre-planned missions and fly with a high degree of automation, but personnel remain responsible for planning, launch and recovery, monitoring the aircraft, coordinating airspace and ensuring the mission is conducted safely.
“The human operator remains central to the mission,” Ferro said. “Operators are involved in mission planning, launch and recovery, monitoring the aircraft, managing safety and airspace considerations, and interpreting the information being collected.”
Operational decisions also remain firmly with the appropriate authorities. The system supplies information, but wildfire managers and incident commanders determine how resources are assigned and what response actions are taken.
“The system is designed to support better human decision-making, not remove human judgement from wildfire response,” said Ferro.
Turning Sensor Data into Action
TEKEVER’s Nova Maps platform serves as the software layer connecting the aircraft and sensors with personnel managing the wildfire response. Rather than simply transmitting isolated images, the platform helps users visualize where activity is occurring, understand how conditions are changing and identify locations that may require additional attention.
“Nova Maps provides the software layer that helps turn data from the aircraft and sensors into usable operational intelligence,” said Ferro. “For wildfire managers, the value is not just in receiving imagery from the aircraft, but in being able to place that information into a wider operational picture.”
That ability to combine sensor output with location and mission data could be particularly useful during fast-moving incidents, when commanders must prioritize aircraft, crews and equipment across a large area.
Spring said the collaboration combines the operator’s regional experience with TEKEVER’s systems. “Wildfire response depends on timely, reliable intelligence, often in the most challenging conditions seen in aviation,” he said.
“Our collaboration with TEKEVER brings together Phoenix Heli-Flight’s operational experience in Canada with advanced uncrewed aircraft, sensors, and real-time intelligence capabilities. This milestone shows how autonomous systems can support enhanced data collection, better situational awareness, and more effective decision-making, helping protect communities, infrastructure, and natural resources.”
Extending Coverage Into the Night
One of the AR3’s most important operational advantages could be its ability to gather data during periods when many aviation resources are no longer flying. Nighttime firefighting aviation has advanced in recent years, but it still brings additional demands and risk for piloted operations. An uncrewed system can continue collecting data without exposing pilots and other aircrew to the same nighttime operating environment.
“While the tools for crewed aviation night operations have advanced in recent years, operating at night does not carry the same prominent increase in risk for the AR3,” said Spring. “Because of this, it is able to make valuable use of the airspace over the wildfire to collect information while crewed aviation assets are resting.”
That capability could help wildfire managers assess how a fire moved overnight, identify newly developed hotspots and prepare more informed assignments for suppression aircraft and ground personnel the following morning.
“The role of an uncrewed system like the AR3 is different,” said Spring. “It can provide persistent sensing, support monitoring and help gather intelligence in areas where it may be inefficient, difficult or higher-risk to deploy crewed aircraft.”
Beyond the Fireline
For TEKEVER, the Alberta contract represents an important expansion of technology already used in demanding maritime, defense and land-based missions. The AR3’s ability to operate as part of a wider command-and-control architecture makes it adaptable to missions where sustained coverage is required.
“This marks an important milestone for TEKEVER, Phoenix Heli-Flight, and the advancement of uncrewed systems in Canada’s wildfire management efforts,” said Ferro. “Building on our successful collaboration, it demonstrates how long-endurance autonomous aircraft, advanced sensor technologies, and real-time intelligence can deliver critical situational awareness in some of the most challenging and time-sensitive operational environments.”
Both companies also see potential for the capability to expand beyond wildfire operations. Phoenix Heli-Flight identified flood monitoring, search-and-rescue support, infrastructure inspection, environmental patrols and wildlife surveys as possible future applications.
“The same attributes that make the AR3 useful for wildfire detection, including endurance, sensor integration, remote-area operation and real-time intelligence, are also relevant to flood monitoring, search and rescue support, environmental patrols and infrastructure inspection,” said Spring.
Wildlife surveys could also benefit from an aircraft that can cover large areas without placing flight crews in prolonged low-level operations or creating the same degree of disturbance for animals.
TEKEVER similarly views wildfire detection as part of a broader international market for autonomous public-safety and environmental-monitoring systems. “Alberta is an important operational milestone, and we see wider potential in Canada and internationally as customers look for more persistent, data-led ways to understand and respond to environmental risk,” said Ferro.
For Phoenix Heli-Flight, the initial focus remains clear: using the AR3 to improve hotspot detection and mapping while integrating the system alongside the aircraft, personnel and agencies already responsible for wildfire response.
The result is an aerial resource designed to remain overhead longer, gather information during periods when conventional aviation assets may be unavailable and give decision-makers a more complete picture before committing personnel and equipment to the fire.
