A400M, C295, and CH-47 aircraft fighting fires: Spain's pending challenges

The wave of wildfires Spain is experiencing this summer has fueled debate about whether the country has sufficient aerial firefighting resources.

External reinforcements for the Spanish 'Corsairs' of the 43rd Group due to the wave of fires
The two Chinook helicopters sent by the Netherlands to Spain to fight the fire

As we saw a few days ago, the 43rd Group of the Spanish Air Force has 14 amphibious aircraft (10 Canadair CL-215T and 4 CL-415) specialized in firefighting. These aircraft are very effective in fighting fires, as they can refuel in reservoirs, rivers, or coastal areas. A CL-215T can carry 5,346 liters and a CL-415 increases that capacity to 6,123 liters.

In addition to these aircraft, the Army Airmobile Forces (FAMET) have the Emergency Helicopter Battalion II (BHELEME II), assigned (like the 43rd Group) to the Military Emergency Unit (UME) and which has 4 EC-135 T2+ helicopters, used in coordination and transport missions, and 3 AS-532AL Cougars used, among other missions, for firefighting. As reported by Ridder.aero in 2013, the UME Cougars use two types of "Bambi Buckets": the BBT 4453, with a 2,000-liter capacity, and the BBT 6578, with a 2,500-liter capacity.

In addition to these aircraft resources, both the central government and the autonomous communities have to resort to contracting resources from private companies. In the case of the State, the fleet of private aircraft contracted by the government has been reduced due to a lack of funding.

Under normal conditions, state and private aircraft resources are more than sufficient, but Spain has shown that it lacks the necessary resources for a major wave of fires like the current one, which is why reinforcements have had to be requested from the European Union. It should be noted that, apart from the aerial resources of private companies, the Spanish Armed Forces have aircraft that can be adapted to fight fires.

One of the simplest and most practical options would be to equip more helicopters with "Bambi Buckets", the baskets used by these types of aircraft to load water from reservoirs, rivers, and even swimming pools in order to drop it on the burning areas. As we saw yesterday, the Netherlands has sent two CH-47F Chinook heavy helicopters to Spain with these accessories, with a capacity of 8,000 liters of water per aircraft. This is a very remarkable capability in fighting fires. Additionally, the U.S. Navy uses its Seahawk helicopters with these attachments to fight fires. This type of aircraft is operated by the Spanish Navy.

In January 2023, the Army's plans to equip its CH-47Fs with "Bambi Buckets" became known, for a total of 700,000 euros. This project appeared in the Ministry of Defense's Annual Procurement Plan (PACDEF) for 2023, but there has been no further news about it.

Let us also remember that Airbus has been testing the inclusion of a fire-extinguishing accessory on its C295, a tactical transport aircraft used by Spain. This accessory would allow the C295 to carry 7,000 liters of water or retardant, a greater capacity than the CL-215T and CL-415. However, so far the Spanish government has not shown interest in acquiring this accessory.

Finally, as we saw here, Airbus has also tested a fire-extinguishing accessory for the A400M Atlas, a transport aircraft also operated by Spain. The first tests of the A400M fire-extinguishing accessory were carried out in Spain and with the support of the 43 Group. The fire-extinguishing accessory for that aircraft can carry up to 20,000 liters of water or retardant, which would greatly increase Spain's capacity in this regard. However, so far the Spanish government has not made any announcements on this matter.

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Main photo: Airbus.