What Trident Sensing Llc does

Trident Sensing Inc. is a privately held Salt Lake City-based developer of real-time wildfire mapping, GPS-denied navigation, and RF detection systems for aviation, emergency response, and defense customers. The company's core product, TACFI-RS, is a networked, multi-node wildfire mapping system that combines airborne LWIR thermal sensors with onboard edge processing to compress imagery into kilobyte-scale packets, backhauling them over narrow datalinks (including Iridium Certus, cellular, and Starlink) to deliver fire maps to a browser within five minutes of imaging. The system automatically fuses imagery from all deployed sensors into a single unified map, supports fire intensity classification and burned-area detection, and is offered in three altitude variants — TACFI-RS Mini (0–3,000 ft AGL, launched 2024), TACFI-RS Basic (0–8,000 ft AGL), and TACFI-RS HA (6–50,000 ft AGL, announced for 2026). Complementary products include Pocket-PNT, a handheld GPS-denied navigator for airborne and ground use; an RF Detection Module for EMCON verification, OEM-integrated into Apogee Worx's EMCHECK product; and the Second Shift Aerial Supervision Module for coordinating emergency response aircraft.

Trident monetizes through a combination of one-time hardware/software sales of TACFI-RS systems and a recurring cloud-based data access subscription for real-time map delivery, targeting federal, state, and local government wildfire and emergency response agencies as well as defense and security operators via direct enterprise field sales, a live demo portal (tacfirs.com), and quote-based purchasing through a dedicated sales email. The go-to-market is anchored by a 'Pilot Proof' product design that requires no crew station integration and supports parasitic missions on existing aircraft, lowering the cost of customer adoption per flight hour. The firm was founded by Steve Pollard in 2014 following a personal close call with wildfires in rural Utah, was seeded by two USDA research grants, and matured in collaboration with NASA; it has subsequently scaled from a single Phase I SBIR to over five Phase II contracts, with two products in active commercialization and a 1–10 person team that designs and manufactures all hardware in-house at its Salt Lake City facility. As of spring 2025, TACFI-RS sensors were flown aboard NASA's Supervolo XL aircraft as part of the NASA FIRESENSE campaign, providing a high-profile third-party validation of the platform.

Name

Trident Sensing Llc

Legal name

Trident Sensing Inc.

Website

https://tridentsensing.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Trident Sensing Inc. builds real-time wildfire mapping (TACFI-RS), GPS-denied navigation (Pocket-PNT), and EMCON RF detection systems for government wildfire agencies, emergency response organizations, and defense operators, delivering airborne thermal imagery to browser-based maps within five minutes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Airborne Remote Sensing Systems

NAICS

Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511), Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519)

SIC

Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)

akta.pro primary industry

Fire Detection & Early Warning (Lookouts, Sensors, Aerial Patrol) (AFAMAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Heat Detectors & Specialized Detectors (e.g., Kitchen/Rate-of-Rise) (HSAHAFAE)

Keywords

• Wildfire mapping systems
• Airborne thermal imaging
• Remote sensing sensors
• GPS-denied navigation
• EMCON verification devices

Headquarters

HQ city

Salt Lake City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. TACFI-RS Hardware and Software System Sales: Trident Sensing sells the TACFI-RS as a complete wildfire mapping system, including sensor hardware for installation on aircraft, onboard processing units, and cloud-based map viewing software. The system supports parasitic mission profiles (flying on existing aircraft doing other missions), which reduces customer acquisition cost per flight hour.
2. Real-Time Fire Map Data Access / SaaS: Real-time fire map data is delivered directly to users' browsers via cloud-based software. This likely represents a recurring SaaS component for map access, monitoring, and data history retrieval.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Trident Sensing designs and manufactures real-time wildfire mapping and airborne remote sensing systems, led by TACFI-RS, which combines LWIR thermal sensors mounted on aircraft with onboard edge processing and cloud-based map delivery to produce fire maps within five minutes of imaging. The company also sells Pocket-PNT (a handheld GPS-denied navigator), an RF Detection Module for EMCON verification (integrated into EMCHECK), and a Second Shift Aerial Supervision Module for coordinating emergency response aircraft, all designed and manufactured in-house in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Product overview

Trident Sensing offers a portfolio of specialized aviation, navigation, and environmental monitoring products. The core product is TACFI-RS, a real-time wildfire mapping system with three sensor variants: TACFI-RS Basic (0-8000' AGL), TACFI-RS Mini (0-3000' AGL, with built-in cellular), and TACFI-RS HA (High Altitude, 6-50k' AGL, launching 2026). Supporting products include Pocket-PNT (handheld GPS-denied navigator), RF Detection Module (EMCON verification device integrated into EMCHECK), and Second Shift Aerial Supervision Module (emergency response coordination system). The company was founded in 2014, received USDA and NASA development support, and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TACFI-RS: A real-time wildfire mapping system that is networked, multi-node, and flies on various aircraft. TACFI-RS tells users where the fire is, where it has been, and where it is going, all within 5 minutes of imaging. The system is patent pending.
• TACFI-RS Mini
• TACFI-RS HA
• Pocket-PNT
• RF Detection Module
• Second Shift Aerial Supervision Module

Products and services

• TACFI-RS Firemapping System A networked, multi-node, real-time wildfire mapping system that uses airborne LWIR thermal sensors with onboard edge processing to deliver fire maps from aircraft to a browser within five minutes of imaging. It is designed to fly on existing aircraft in parasitic mission profiles without crew-station integration and combines imagery from all sensors in real time into a single unified map on a common 10-meter grid. Sold to government emergency response agencies and aviation operators responsible for wildfire management.
• Pocket-PNT Handheld GPS-Denied Navigator

Quantifiable outcome

• Fire maps delivered in 5 minutes from imaging — vs. hours or days for legacy systems
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability4 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• NASAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025TACFI-RS was integrated and flown on NASA's Supervolo XL aircraft as part of the NASA FIRESENSE campaign in spring 2025. This represents a significant co-development and validation partnership, with Trident's sensors flying alongside NASA-operated aircraft to demonstrate real-time wildfire mapping capabilities. Sensors were also flown on Trident's own PA-39 Twin Commanche during the campaign.
• Apogee Worx LLC (EMCHECK)coreTechnology or IntegrationThe RF Detection Module was developed in partnership with Apogee Worx LLC and is integrated into EMCHECK, their product. Trident's EMCON verification device is embedded within the EMCHECK platform, representing a product integration and white-label OEM relationship where Trident's hardware/software serves as a component of Apogee Worx's broader EMCHECK solution.
• USDA (United States Department of Agriculture)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTACFI-RS was designed as part of a USDA research grant. The company received two R&D grants from the USDA, which funded the initial concept development. The USDA grant provided early-stage funding and validation of Trident's wildfire mapping technology.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Trimble: Trimble provides GPS, GNSS, and resilient positioning/navigation solutions for aviation, surveying, agriculture, and defense. Its navigation portfolio overlaps with Pocket-PNT for GPS-denied and resilient positioning use cases across government and industrial users.
• EagleView: EagleView provides high-resolution aerial imagery and analytics for insurance, government, and infrastructure applications, including post-fire damage assessment. It is a broad incumbent serving overlapping government and risk-management customers across aerial geospatial intelligence.
• Honeywell Aerospace: Honeywell Aerospace manufactures avionics, sensors, and navigation systems for commercial and military aircraft. It is a broad incumbent in the aerospace sensor and navigation market against which Trident's Pocket-PNT and TACFI-RS hardware compete through OEM and integrator channels.
• Maxar Technologies: Maxar provides high-resolution satellite imagery, geospatial analytics, and defense solutions including wildfire and disaster-response products. It is a broad incumbent serving overlapping government and defense customers with significantly larger scale.
• Planet Labs: Planet Labs operates a large Earth-observation satellite constellation delivering daily imagery for agriculture, forestry, and emergency response, including wildfire monitoring. It is a broad incumbent offering an alternative data source to Trident's airborne thermal sensors.

Direct peers

• Pano AI: Pano AI provides AI-powered wildfire detection and situational awareness using cameras, satellites, and aerial feeds with real-time alerting for fire agencies. It is the closest direct competitor to TACFI-RS in real-time wildfire intelligence for emergency-management customers.
• OroraTech: OroraTech operates a thermal-infrared satellite constellation for global wildfire detection and mapping. It directly overlaps with TACFI-RS in the real-time fire mapping use case, although it relies on space-based rather than airborne sensors.

Emerging players

• Vibrant Planet: Vibrant Planet delivers wildfire risk planning and post-fire assessment software for land agencies and utilities. While oriented to planning rather than real-time sensing, it shares Trident's government-emergency-response customer base and competes for related wildfire IT budgets.
• Salient Predictions: Salient Predictions uses satellite data and analytics to forecast wildfire risk and behavior for utilities and government agencies. It overlaps with Trident in delivering wildfire intelligence to emergency-response customers, focused on risk forecasting rather than live fire mapping.

Regional players

• GHGSat: GHGSat uses satellite sensors to detect industrial greenhouse gas emissions with growing wildfire smoke monitoring capability. It overlaps with Trident in thermal-imaging-from-orbit environmental sensing for government and industrial customers globally.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tridentsensing

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Trident Sensing Llc