• 

  Airbus

  Stock Code:

  AIR

  Date Founded:

  1970-12-18

  CEO:

  Guillaume Faury

  Headquarters Location:

  Toulouse, France

  Key Product Lines:

  Airbus A220, Airbus A320, Airbus A330, Airbus A340, Airbus A350, Airbus A380

  Business Type:

  Planemaker

Airbus is working towards creating a production version of a firefighting kit that can be used on its A400M airlifter. The European planemaker has successfully tested the kit on a recent test campaign and is hoping it can be used to combat the growing threat of wildfires.

A400M as a firefighting aircraft

Airbus’ A400M has worn many hats. The aircraft (yes, the same one that Tom Cruise held onto in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation) has performed critical evacuations and even played a role in Germany’s COVID vaccination drive.

Launched in May 2003 to respond to the combined needs of several European Nations, it made its first flight on 11 December 2009 and has seen operational use in several conflict zones.

But if all goes according to plan, it could play a key role in combating wildfires, which are increasingly becoming common, as never-before-seen heatwaves grip the planet.

Prototype developed

Airbus has announced that it has successfully tested a removable firefighting demonstrator kit on the A400M new generation airlifter during a flight test campaign in Spain.

The aircraft manufacturer collaborated with the 43rd Group of the Spanish Air Force, as well as European authorities in Firefighting operations and the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO) to develop the prototype and carry out the test flights.

Follow Simple Flying for all the latest aviation news.

The test campaign was performed in the following conditions:

• Flights were carried out in daylight
• A minimum operating height of 150ft was achieved
• Flight speeds were brought down to as low as 125 knots
• Drops involved up to 20 tonnes of water from the current tank in less than 10 seconds

For reference, other large firefighting aircraft such as the C-130 Hercules and the Boeing 747 Supertanker can carry up to 5 and 25 tons of water, respectively.

The main objective of the campaign was to validate the drop water quantity and time, as well as the ability of the A400M to carry out this new role with the kit.

No modifications required

This firefighting solution created for the A400M is a roll-on/roll-off (RORO) kit that requires no modification to the aircraft and therefore is interchangeable to any aircraft in the A400M fleet.

Airbus explains that the water is stored in a fixed tank in the cargo hold and retained by two independent doors. These doors are connected to two flood pipes, so when the discharge is triggered, the water is expelled through two sections at the end of the ramp.

The A400M comes with low-level flight capability and maneuverability at low speeds, which makes it capable of accurately dropping water at heights as low as 150ft.

Airbus has high hopes for the product and will also test it in night-time conditions in addition to developing a production version of the kit.

Do you think the A400M could play an important role in combating wildfires in the future? Please leave a comment below.