On September 1 Coulson’s Tanker 132 (an L-382G civilian version of Lockheed’s C-130) began an aerial firefighting contract in New South Wales, Australia. Next week NSW will loan it to the government of Indonesia to help fight some of the massive wildfires that have been smoking up the skies, creating health concerns downwind.

Below is information about the deployment provided by Shane Fitzsimmons, Commissioner of the NSW Rural fire Service:

Following a request from Indonesia, the NSW RFS will be deploying Thor, our C130 Hercules Large Air Tanker (LAT), to assist with forest fire fighting in the regions of Borneo and Sumatra this coming week. Following the approval of our Minister David Elliott and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, tomorrow morning, a number of senior NSW RFS personnel will join officers from EMA and DFAT and depart for the region to prepare for the deployment. A number of aviation specialists from NSW and other States will also be deployed to support the LAT. The five day deployment is scheduled for departure early in the week, probably Tuesday pending final clearances.

Our VLAT, Southern Belle the DC10, will remain in NSW along with more than 100 other aircraft on call if needed. Should there be an unexpected change in current weather forecast, Thor can be recalled in 24-48 hours. I thank the NSW and Federal Governments and departments for their outstanding efforts in assisting with coordinating and managing this urgent request. Thanks to all involved and best wishes to all those deployed over coming days – stay safe.