The devastating wildland forest fires in recent years have focused increasing attention to the nation’s aging and dwindling fleet of large fixed-wing airtankers used as an initial attack tool for wildland fire containment.  In fact, the American Helicopter Services & Aerial Firefighting Association (AHSAFA) has long recognized that the 11 remaining large air tankers– former US Navy P2V aircraft, specially modified for dropping fire retardant–are stretched thin and nearing the end of their service lives.  With a 50-year average age of aircraft, there will not be any large airtankers for wildland firefighting by the end of the decade unless the fleet is modernized and increased in numbers.

The US Forest Service (USFS)–the agency that oversees wilderness protection–has also known for years that indefinite deployment of the current large airtanker fleet is not an option.  But it was only on March 6, in a prepared statement to Congress, that USFS Chief Tom Tidwell reported that his agency’s diminished and aging fleet of contractor-available, contractor-operated airtankers is insufficient to combat the nation’s increasingly severe fires.  Just a month prior to that–on February 10–the USFS released its “Large Airtanker Modernization Strategy” and has sought proposals from private industry for next-generation large airtankers.  Yet, well before this document was made public, the AHSAFA members were already taking the first steps toward bringing in newer aircraft, which would be mission-ready well before the last of today’s large airtankers are finally grounded.

Given the current fiscal realities, the aerial firefighting industry is not asking the US Government to buy, own or operate a single large airtanker.  However, in order to enable the remaining private operators to retire their legacy aircraft and cover development costs of replacement equipment, the USFS will have to consider funding operational contracts of as much as 10 years, instead of the standard five-year contracts, or sporadic Call-When-Needed arrangements.  It is unrealistic to expect an operator of multi-million-dollar air tankers to provide reliable response and service levels, as well as maintain aircraft airworthiness and crew currency, on a call-when-needed basis, or with short-term contracts.

Tom Eversole, Executive Director of AHSAFA stated “At the same time, the Forest Service must understand that any new contracts would have to reflect the higher costs of operating the newer, more capable large airtankers now being proposed”.

The American Helicopter Services & Aerial Firefighting Association is actively working with the USFS to bring a modern airtanker platform on line.  In doing that, industry has focused on a number of candidate aircraft.  All would derive from late-model or currently produced commercial or military aircraft, since no U.S. aircraft manufacturer is offering a purpose-built, large airtanker.

At a minimum, the USFS requires that any large airtanker have a capacity of at least 3,000 gallons of fire retardant chemical, and be turbine engine powered.  To date, a modified four-engine BAE 146 regional passenger jetliner has been successfully demonstrated by one operator–Neptune Aviation–under real world wildland firefighting conditions, and interim approval gained last year from the government’s Air Tanker Board.  Neptune Aviation is also the operator of nine of the remaining P2V airtankers, and is focusing on the BAE 146 as a replacement aircraft.

Some discussions have also surfaced about using Air National Guard operated C130s, equipped with modular airborne firefighting systems (MAFFS).  This has been done in the past.  But those aircraft, while useful in a sustained attack mode, require 48 hours from call-up to arrival on station, making them unavailable for the important initial attack phase of wildfire fighting.

As the industry moves ahead with proposals for modern large airtankers, AHSAFA applauds the USFS for publicly recognizing they are currently dealing with insufficient numbers of aging air tankers, and the systemic problems related to dispatching and utilizing those resources effectively.  With continuing drought conditions throughout much of the country, along with the growth of the urban-wildland interface, AHSAFA believes that U.S. fire agencies and the airtanker operators have a new opportunity to work together to build an effective airtanker force for the 21^st century.

Washington, DC., February 28, 2012…In October 2011 the nation’s privately operated aerial firefighting industry proposed a plan to the US Forest Service (USFS) to replace the aging Large Air Tankers with modern aircraft before 2016.
The current 11 Large Air Tankers, operated by two companies, are former Navy P2V Neptunes averaging 50 years of age. The aircraft were modified with 2,700 gallon capacity tanks for dropping fire retardant and have a remaining life expectancy of roughly 10 years. “The aerial firefighting industry has long recognized these Air Tankers were getting old and would have to be replaced,” said Tom Eversole, Executive Director of the American Helicopter Services and Aerial Firefighting Association (AHSAFA) in Washington, DC. “Several years ago, in anticipation of a government strategy for modernizing the airtanker fleet, we, as an industry- took the first steps toward acquiring more modern aircraft to replace the legacy fleet.”
Eversole reported the US Forest Service has not proposed a specific time-table for total phase-out of the P2Vs. However, it did finally issue the long awaited Aerial Firefighting Strategy document on February 10, 2012, although the strategy lacked detail as to how the USFS planned to accomplish the modernization of the large airtanker fleet. The USFS also issued a Request For Proposal (RFP) for modernizing the large airtanker fleet to which as many as six companies were expected to respond by the February 17 deadline. Under the RFP, the operators would acquire the aircraft and deploy them under USFS contracts. Actual acquisition costs would be borne by individual aircraft owners, and would not require special funding from Congress for acquisition purposes.
The industry proposal calls for a fleet of 26 modern, turbine powered tankers that would meet USFS requirements, which includes the capability to carry 3,000-4,000 gallons of fire retardant. At this time, potentially two air tanker operators are proposing a modified BAE 146, and one of those operator received interim approval to operate a BAE 146 Large Air Tanker last year in the wildland firefighting environment. If the industry plan goes forward, that aircraft, or some other appropriate type, would phase out the legacy Air Tankers on the basis of adding five, seven, eight, and six aircraft in years 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Acquisition and tanking costs would run about $6 to $8 million per aircraft, depending upon the model selected. Contract availability costs and flight costs would run about 30 and 35 percent higher, respectively, over the legacy fleet, but that would be offset by lower maintenance expenses, and greater mission capabilities. The modernization effort will require support from Congress in appropriating additional funding in Fiscal Years 2013 through 2015 for the purpose of covering increased contract costs for the modern fleet of aircraft. Although the federal wildland firefighting agencies have their Fiscal Year 2012 budgets, Congress must emphasize with these agencies, the need to allocate the appropriate funding to contract for modern Large Air Tankers in Fiscal Year 2012.
“As an industry, we are technically capable and financially able to bring about this fleet modernization plan,” said Eversole.
The American Helicopter Services and Aerial Firefighting Association (AHSAFA) is the trade association representing commercial operators of helicopters and fixed wing aircraft engaged in aerial wildland firefighting.
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