LUF 120

Refinery and petrochemical fires are the target of the LUF 120, the heaviest tracked firefighting robot from Austria's LUF GmbH at 4.3 t. According to the maker it is laid out for extreme heat and oxygen-depleted air, though no temperature figure is published.

A Deutz V6 diesel of 330 kW (450 hp) with a 200-litre tank moves the 300 × 200 × 210 cm vehicle at 4.5 km/h. Its large monitor is rated up to 18,000 l/min in total: either two streams of 6,000 l/min at 8 bar or a single 6,000 l/min stream at 14 bar.

The head rotates through 350 degrees and tilts from +20 to +80 degrees; water arrives through three 6-inch Storz inlets and three LED work lights illuminate the scene. Radio control reaches about 300 m. The manufacturer describes the throw only as enormous, without a metre value, and pricing is on request.

Set against the LUF 60 with its 2,400 l/min mist cannon, the LUF 120 plays in a different league, aimed at industrial brigades protecting tank farms and port terminals rather than municipal fire stations. It is the single highest-flow machine in this catalogue section, roughly doubling the output of the American Thermite RS3.