Outside the Box

Defense One reports Boeing has an off-the-wall idea, a new civilian use for artillery.

Boeing suggests, firefighters might get the job done faster by launching salvos of special 155mm shells from a dozen or more miles away. Packed with fire-suppressant material, the shells are fired from a field howitzer. (snip) The shell releases its load over the fire thanks to “a device comprising a timer, an altimeter, an accelerometer, a global positioning device, a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, or a distance measuring device.”

Boeing officials estimate that each shell could put about one to six gallons of fire suppressant (depending on its load; less material means more range) on a 100-square-foot area. Steady firing with three-gallon shells could deliver 214,000 gallons of fire suppressant in about six hours — about twice as fast as a helicopter.

“Some guns may deliver the fire-retarding material within 15 feet of a target at a 15 mile range.

We already use artillery to safely trigger avalanches in snow country, this is new.