TF-19 Wasp (drone flamethrower)

2019

The United States began to fine $25,000 for launching armed drones

In late August 2019 Federal Aviation Administration USA , the (FAA) issued an official warning to all drone owners prohibiting the manufacture, sale and purchase of drones equipped with weapons. Violators of the law face a fine of $25 thousand.

Over the past few years, the cost of consumer drones has dropped significantly, and some owners have come up with the idea of equipping their drones with weapons. Taking advantage of the trend, ThrowFlame made headlines by releasing a $1,500 TF-19 Wasp drone flamethrower. TF-19 Wasp can throw out a jet of flames, but ThrowFlame insists it's not a weapon and recommends customers use flamethrower drones for peaceful purposes.

The United States began to fine for launching armed drones

The FAA issued an official warning to ThrowFlame, recalling that any civilian drone equipped with "weapons, bombs, fireworks, flamethrowers and other dangerous items" will be fined up to $25,000. However, ThrowFlame continues to insist that flamethrowers in the United States are considered tools, and therefore cannot be weapons. Elon Musk took advantage of the same trick in 2018, when The Boring Company sold 20,000 flamethrowers for $500 apiece.

According to the department, armed unmanned aerial vehicles are capable of causing "serious damage to the health of others and the bank account of the drone owner."

If someone suddenly needs to launch a dangerous drone, then someone will need to get permission from the FAA, the regulator said.

So far, ThrowFlame continues to sell Wasp TF-19 on the official website along with other portable flamethrowers. YouTube There are plenty of videos showing its use, which the FAA may well use as evidence in court. However, so far the disagreement has not reached a real lawsuit.^[1]

Start of sales

In July 2019, Throwflame began selling the TF-19 Wasp flamethrower, which is installed on unmanned aerial vehicles.

The released equipment can be placed on drones with a carrying capacity of at least 2.2 kg and hit targets at a distance of up to 7.6 meters. A flamethrower weighing 1.8 kg (a small indicator has been achieved thanks to the use of carbon fiber) is equipped with a fuel tank with a volume of about 3.8 liters, the full capacity should be enough for 100 seconds of continuous flame eruption.

The principle of operation of the flamethrower is as follows: a combustible mixture under pressure flies out of the barrel and is set on fire with an electric charge. Thanks to the cameras installed on unmanned vehicles, operators will be able to hit the target exactly.

TF-19 Wasp costs $1,500. Throwflame also created drones costing from $1,000 to $10,000, depending on the parameters of the UAV (speed and flight time, video quality).

The manufacturer showed the operation of its flamethrower on the example of a drone DJI S1000 with a A2 flight controller, a 16,000 mAh LiPo 6S battery, a camera, GoPro and a TBS Tango R/C remote control. Such a kit can cost an additional $2,600.

Equipped with flamethrowers, drones can be used, for example, to clean power lines from garbage, destroy pests and their nests, and monitor grass burning. In addition, the development can be used in film and television filming or as a pyrotechnic system.

Flamethrower for drones went on sale

TF-19 Wasp and almost all flamethrowers are allowed in the United States, they are not considered firearms. The market for such equipment is unregulated, but some states have restrictions. For example, in California, flamethrowers must emit flames at a distance of no more than 3 meters, so to sell Wasp TF-19 in this state, developers will have to finalize the product.^[2]

Notes