Last week I was up in Sacramento attending the Aerial Firefighting Conference, and I took a tour of Cal Fire aviation headquarters at McClellan Airtanker Base. The main topic of discussion was the C-130 tankers, and here is an update.
According to Cal Fire officials, One of the C-130s should be ready to go sometime this year, and the first one will be based at McClellan. The other six C-130s will be tanked soon. Fresno and Ramona have been confirmed for C-130s.
With the transfer of ownership of the seven C-130H aircraft complete, installation of the 4000-gallon internal tanks has begun. The C-130s at McClellan will be used for initial attack delivery of retardant and the airtankers will provide additional support to the state’s existing fleet. The strategy during the transfer process has been long and challenging, but progress is underway!
After an exhausting wait, Cal Fire back in December worked with Congress to move seven military transport planes from the Coast Guard after Congress passed legislation to speed up the transfer. In a move by Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), Senator John Boozman (R-AR), and Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-41), the final version of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act included an effort that recognized the work of Governor Newsom and Cal Fire Chief Joe Tyler, who pushed the effort over the finish line.
Cal Fire is now one big step closer to getting seven military transport planes from the Coast Guard to fight fire after Congress passed legislation this week to speed up the transfer.
According to a Politico report, the National Defense Reauthorization Act contains language to expedite the legal transfer of seven C-130 aircraft from the Coast Guard to Cal Fire. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said Minnesota’s 133rd Airlift Wing was selected to receive 8 new C-130J aircraft; the new aircraft will replace decades-old C-130H aircraft, which were supposed to have been transferred over to California years ago.
In a move by Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), Senator John Boozman (R-AR), and Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-41), the final version of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act includes an effort that recognizes the work of Governor Newsom and Cal Fire Chief Joe Tyler, who pushed the effort over the finish line.
Aerial Fire Magazine reported back in October that it was nearly five years ago that Congress told the U.S. Air Force to convert the seven surplus USCG C-130s aircraft into firefighting tankers for California. It never finished the job, and now California just wants the planes. Period. “We were fortunate this year to have a fire season that wasn’t like we’ve had in previous years,” said Ken Pimlott, now-retired chief of Cal Fire. “But it’s coming back — this is only one year. We can’t afford to lose any more time getting these aircraft retrofitted.”
So California Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Ken Calvert added a provision in the 2024 defense spending bill to hand over the C-130s to Cal Fire immediately — whether they were finished or not.
In service for more than 60 years, the C-130 is a workhorse of military aircraft, used for decades for troop transport, medical evacuations, search and rescue, and weather reconnaissance. As airtankers they have a drop capacity of 3000 gallons.
“This transfer will save lives, improve air quality, protect forestlands, and reduce carbon emissions,” said Matt Dias with Calforests, the California Forestry Association. “Adding seven C-130s to California’s aerial firefighting force is a truly remarkable advancement.”
Cal Fire Director Joe Tyler said the C-130s will help reduce loss of life and property to California wildfires. “I look forward to these aircraft joining our world-renowned aerial firefighting force,” he said. “Between earthquakes, wildfires and other natural disasters, California is one of the most costly and challenging states for property insurers and owners.” He said California can’t prevent earthquakes, but it can fight fire.
When Biden signs the defense bill into law, the planes will be transferred, and California will enter into a contract for the work. The first of the seven planes will likely be ready in time for the 2024 fire year, adding immediate value to the state’s fleet.
Matt Dias, president and CEO of the California Forestry Association, said the new aircraft will have the capacity to drop 3,000 gallons of retardant in less than five seconds, which is more than twice the load dropped by Cal Fire’s current S-2Ts.
“To be able to use aerial deployment of retardant for initial attack and suppression is really critical,” Dias said.
Retired Chief Ken Pimlott said the planes should give firefighters a big boost in future fire seasons, noting the engines on the C-130s. “In general they’re a bigger aircraft, they’re a four-engine aircraft where the S-2 is a two-engine,” he said. “Since it flies faster, it can return to the base and reload more quickly as well.”
The transfer has been delayed for years and became a priority for California’s firefighting agency. Coulson Aviation’s Retardant Aerial Delivery System (RADS) can be installed on virtually any C-130. The Coulson RADS-XXL is half the cost of competing systems — and one-sixth the weight — and it requires no additional crew or equipment. The RADS-XXL systems were selected for the Hercules C-130 aircraft fleet operated by Cal Fire.
Australia buys 20 C-130s from the U.S. — for $6.6 billion
Australia plans to buy 20 new C-130 Hercules aircraft from the United States in a $9.8 billion AUD ($6.6 billion USD) deal that will increase by two-thirds the size of the Royal Australian Air Force’s fleet of its second-largest heavy transport aircraft.
The announcement follows the U.S. Congress approval last year of a larger sale of 24 of the Lockheed Martin-manufactured propellor-driven aircraft.
The U.S. and Australia are conducting their biennial Talisman Sabre military exercise, according to an APNews report, along the Australian coast that this year involves 13 nations and more than 30,000 personnel — as global concerns intensify over an increasingly assertive China.
The first of the new 4-engine C-130s is expected in 2027. The deal was confirmed ahead of a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and their Australian counterparts for annual talks this week in Brisbane.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the federal government confirmed the purchase of 20 C-130s to expand and replace the current 12 aircraft operated by Defence. The heavy-lift aircraft can operate with short runways, dropping cargo and delivering personnel. The RAAF first took delivery of a C-130 in 1958, with the current fleet now more than 20 years old. Defence said the dozen existing C-130s would be replaced by 2030 and delivery of the remaining eight would be “subject to the U.S. production schedule.”
The C-130 Hercules have been involved in almost every major Australian Defence operation since they were first purchased, including civilian ops providing COVID vaccines and medical supplies, as well as during bushfires and floods. They are also often used in search and rescue missions.
Back in December, Australia added a new C-130 from Coulson along with a 737 to its resources, after an earlier issue with a C-130 tanker crash. In August of last year Bill Gabbert reported that three Americans were killed in a 2020 New South Wales accident involving the crash of Tanker 134.
Adding two more large airtankers will boost firefighting capability for Western Australia as emergency services personnel prepare for a busy bushfire season. A C-130 Hercules from Coulson Aviation was added on December 5 and is expected to serve in Western Australia (WA) for four seasons. The WA Minister for Emergency Services’ office said the Coulson contract was secured with an $11 million investment to ensure there is a locally based airtanker in the state for the first time.
The Australian Rural & Regional News reported that a Commonwealth-funded Boeing 737 will arrive later this month and will also be based in WA. This arrangement has been secured from the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council National Resource Sharing Centre. Both airtankers can carry more than 15,000 litres — just under 4,000 gallons — of fire suppressant, and both will be based at Busselton-Margaret River Airport in the South-West.
Australia Aerial Firefighting C-130 Hercules Firetanker — Coulson Aviation photo
Western Australia’s aerial fleet comprises 36 rotary and fixed-wing suppression and aerial intelligence aircraft, and for the second consecutive year will feature two Black Hawk helicopters.
Coast Guard 1706 arrives at MCC Oct. 5, 2022. Photo by Mike McKeig.
Mike McKeig took photos of Coast Guard aircraft 1706 arriving at Sacramento McClellan Airport yesterday, one of seven HC-130Hs being transferred to CAL FIRE to become, one day, air tankers. Its next stop might be in Kingman, AZ, or another facility, to get new livery.
Coast Guard 1706 arrives at MCC Oct. 5, 2022. Photo by Mike McKeig.
The 1706 aircraft had its center wing box replaced before the legislation was passed in December of 2013 to transfer seven Coast Guard HC-130Hs to the Forest Service, and later to CAL FIRE. All of them will need to have depot level maintenance completed and retardant systems installed before the final transfer is complete.
A Coast Guard C-130, #1706, getting the Center Wing Box replaced at Robins AFB March 13, 2012. This aircraft is one of seven being transferred to CAL FIRE. (U. S. Air Force photo by Sue Sapp)
CAL FIRE Air Tanker 120, formerly Coast Guard 1709, arriving at McClellan, August 12, 2022. By Mike McKeig.
Another of the seven C-130 aircraft that the Coast Guard will eventually transfer to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection flew into Sacramento McClellan Airport today. In the Coast Guard it was known as #1709 but will become Air Tanker 120 when the conversion is complete and it is operated by CAL FIRE.
Like some of the other Coast Guard C-130s that have come to McClellan after having work done it appears to have 98 percent new livery, the exception being the rudder. It will eventually receive the other half of the zero to complete the T-120 designation. The delay may have something to do with balancing the rudder after the conversion is largely complete.
We were told there are no obvious external indications of retardant drop doors or a tank having been installed.
Below is what it looked like five years before the transfer and tanker conversion effort for the seven C-130s began in 2013.
A Coast Guard No. 1709, October, 2008. This is one of the seven HC-130Hs being transferred to the CAL FIRE. Photo by Bob Garrard.
More photos of T-120 arriving at McClellan today:
CAL FIRE Air Tanker 120, formerly Coast Guard 1709, arriving at McClellan, August 12, 2022. By Mike McKeig.
CAL FIRE Air Tanker 120, formerly Coast Guard 1709, arriving at McClellan, August 12, 2022. By Mike McKeig.
Air tanker 169, an RJ-85, at Sierra Vista Municipal Airport while working the Contreras Fire, June 16, 2022. Photo by Ned Harris.
These photos of aircraft that were working on the Contreras Fire were taken by Ned Harris June 16, 2022 at the Sierra Vista Municipal Airport, a joint-use civil-military airport which shares facilities with Libby Army Airfield on Fort Huachuca in Southern Arizona.
We posted more of Ned’s photos yesterday, June 24, 2022. Thank you Ned!
Air tanker 131, a C-130, at Sierra Vista Municipal Airport while working the Contreras Fire, June 16, 2022. Photo by Ned Harris.
Tankers 105 & 107, MD-87s, at Sierra Vista Municipal Airport while working the Contreras Fire, June 16, 2022. Photo by Ned Harris.
