But with climate change and bushfires worsening, Dr Orr said Australia should be using at least two of Defence's Triton drones, which are still a few years away from being delivered, to monitor the landscape throughout bushfire season. There should also be a network of significantly more fire towers with water tanks, which could be linked to fleets of drones equipped with fire retardant, he said.
Bombs have been used to fight fires before, emitting a shockwave that can snuff out airflow and slow a fire's speed. The Swedish air force last year dropped a 500-pound bomb from a fighter jet onto a burning forest that was threatening nearby communities.Defence should be looking to share more of its equipment with law enforcement and emergency response agencies, Dr Orr said, pointing to a program in the US that legally requires its military to make various items available.
He said capabilities that could easily be inserted into the ADF, like quick-release water bladders, should be a priority under any increase in spending. "The Australian Defence Force is not trained, equipped or certified to undertake ground-based or aerial bush firefighting, and does not get involved in the direct act of fighting bushfires outside Defence property," she said.
rharris334 Gallo_Ways Go tell that to our bloody stupid PM Morrison, the fire experts tried to warn him months ago and were ignored.
rharris334 Gallo_Ways They have only to ask the indigenous who have been successfully managing the bush with fire for 40,000 years. Equipment won't do it. The bush is not the enemy. It just needs to be managed in the way it has evolved to be managed.
rharris334 Gallo_Ways Our defence forces are to busy training to suppress the peoples to help the peoples. Shame
rharris334 Gallo_Ways Yep and the strategy involves doing sweet f.a., putting the blame on the Greens and saying that it’s definitely got nothing to do with climate change.
rharris334 Gallo_Ways There is a strategy ?