Simplex® Aerospace has received an order from Japan Aerospace for a high rise building water cannon, called the SkyCannon™, for the Eurocopter EC 225 helicopter. The high rise SkyCannon™ will be deployed for use in the city of Tokyo. Simplex® Aerospace will obtain an FAA STC along with Japanese reciprocal approval for use in Japan. This Simplex® SkyCannon™ will be the first helicopter based high rise fire fighting system to be used in Japan. The new system will be delivered in 2014 for certification and is expected to be in use fighting high rise building fires in early 2015.

The Simplex® Aerospace SkyCannon™ is the result of several years of research and development determining the best method to combat high rise building fires not accessible to ground based firefighting equipment. Mark Zimmerman, President and CEO of Simplex® Aerospace stated, “The design concept for the SkyCannon™ was simply to take the capabilities of a ground based fire truck and put it in the sky.” Fires in high rise buildings can quickly grow and climb out of the range of conventional ground based fire fighting systems. Using a fire fighting system mounted in a helicopter will allow fire fighters to reach the fire before it spreads throughout the upper floors of the building. The newly developed Simplex® Aerospace SkyCannon™ will give fire fighters a new tool to save lives and property in the event of a high rise building fire.

The system uses Simplex® Aerospace patented technology to provide the most effective helicopter fire fighting system available today. Zimmerman stated, “The purpose of our new SkyCannon™ is for , Rapid Response and to Keep the Fire Small, providing time for residents to exit the building safely and for ground based fire fighters to reach the building and to fight the building fire internally. The SkyCannon™, which can be deployed free of traffic congestion, will be adapted to other helicopter models capable of performing aerial high rise fire fighting. The Eurocopter EC225 helicopter is the first helicopter selected for use with the SkyCannon™. We are currently adapting the high rise fire fighting SkyCannon™ to helicopter models from additional helicopter manufacturers.”

The new Simplex® Aerospace high rise building fire fighting SkyCannon™ utilizes a modified Simplex® Aerospace STC’d belly tank in addition to the newly patented water cannon. The SkyCannon™ is capable of using both water and fire fighting foam. The system also utilizes an forward looking infrared camera to help firefighters the operator locate and target hot spots in real time. A distance measuring system is provided to assist the firefighter and the pilot in measuring the distance to the building for increased safety.

Founded in 1946, Simplex® has built a reputation as the leader in design, manufacturing, and certification of aerial application systems and mission equipment for helicopters. Simplex® maintains its industry leadership by incorporating the latest technology in designing and manufacturing systems from high-strength, low-weight composite materials to produce reliable and cost-effective systems for firefighting, agriculture, utilities maintenance and other aerial applications. For more information, please visit our website www.simplex.aero.