Bulgaria will soon be equipped to fight wildfires with a product from California- based company Caylym, joining other countries like Israel and Greece. Caylym’s proven and effective Guardian system is a Containerized Aerial Fire Fighting System (CAFFS) that has been deployed and fighting wildfires in the EU since 2015.
Caylym representatives traveled to Bulgaria mid-June to train the Bulgarian Air Force on use of the system. Once that training is complete, Bulgaria will be ready to implement the system whenever a wildfire demands attention.
As the newest country to adopt Caylym’s proven and effective Guardian system, Bulgaria joins the fight against the devastating and destructive environmental effects of wildfires. Leaders at Caylym are confident that the Guardian – which is an eight-ply, continuously wound corrugated container that holds 1000 liters of liquid – is part of the solution to this growing problem.
“To put it simply, the Guardian is a box that is loaded like cargo, as many as 20 per aircraft, and dropped like cargo, which then opens up mid-air and makes it rain on wildfire,” Rick Goddard, Caylym founder, said.
There are no aircraft modifications required to use The Guardian; it is deployed from any rear-loading cargo aircraft using well-established Container Delivery System (CDS) procedures. Once dropped from an aircraft, each Guardian box releases its contents below and behind the aircraft in an overlapping pattern creating an instant and accurate ‘rainstorm.’
According to Goddard, the Guardian CAFFS provides a simple, safe and effective rapid response capability that can be deployed 24 hours a day. Guardian drops can integrate and augment existing aerial firefighting systems that use existing single-mission aircraft.
Further, Guardian payload liquids do not need anti-corrosion or other harmful chemical additives since the Guardian container shields the aircraft prior to airdrop. Each Guardian container is 100-percent recyclable and 90-percent biodegradable.
Thousands of Guardian units have already been purchased across Europe – including Bulgaria’s recent large order – and around the world, and the Caylym team is hopeful that more countries will soon adopt the technology.
