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Legislation introduced to double the number of military MAFFS air tankers and restrict the use of foreign air tankers

Bill GabbertJune 23, 2012December 11, 2012Uncategorizedair tanker, legislation, MAFFS16 Comments

MAFFS II unit being transported on a carrier, ready for installation in a C-130J

Proposal to reactivate old MAFFS units

A California congressman has introduced legislation requiring that the eight old, first generation Modular Airborne FireFighting Systems (MAFFS), which can be used as needed in military C-130H aircraft to fight wildfires, be made available to units of the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. The eight older MAFFS were replaced by nine second generation MAFFS II units within the last four years and the old units can’t be used in the more modern C-130J aircraft. The C-130Hs still in service are being targeted as potential air tankers by Representative Elton Gallegly from California who introduced the bill.

MAFFS air tankers are supposed to be activated only if all of the privately owned air tankers on federal contracts are committed. None of the eight military MAFFS have been used yet this year.

MAFFS C-130 Las Conchas 6-27 — MAFFS C-130J makes a drop on the Las Conchas fire in New Mexico, 6-27-2011. Photo: Jayson Coil

Currently eight of the nine new MAFFS II units are assigned and available to be used in C-130Js at bases in California, Wyoming, Colorado, and North Carolina. Representative Gallegly’s bill, H.R.5965, would require that the one spare MAFFS II and the eight first generation MAFFS that are in storage be made available and ready for activation if needed for wildfire suppression. That would increase the numbers of MAFFS air tankers to 17.

There is at least one obstacle that would have to be overcome in order to implement the Representative’s proposal. The military has indicated that they are not interested in expanding their role in suppressing wildfires. According to the Conference Chairman’s Report from the Aerial Firefighting Conference held in Washington, D.C. in 2011, Lt. Col. Bryan Allen of the Air National Guard said that given the nation’s operational tempo, he would not be comfortable with extending this role for what are essentially warfighting assets. And Clark R. Lystra of the Office of Secretary of Defense reported that an increase in the use of military assets to combat wildland fires had been rejected by the Department.

If you want to know more about the MAFFS II units, we covered the details in an article we wrote in 2009.

Restrict the use of air tankers from a foreign government

The proposed legislation has an additional requirement:

The Chief of the Forest Service may not procure air tankers to fight wildfires from a foreign government unless the Chief of the Forest Service certifies to Congress that MAFFS air tanker support available from units of the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve is being fully utilized or is not sufficient to address wildfires on National Forest System land.

On June 6 the U.S. Forest Service announced that that they had arranged to temporarily hire a CV-580 air tanker from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. At that time the two DC-10 air tankers based in California that carry five times more retardant than the CV-580s were not hired. Then on June 11 the USFS announced that they had activated on a call when needed contract (CWN) one of the two American-based DC-10s and also borrowed three more Canadian CV-580s. The USFS currently does not have a contract with Evergreen’s American-based 747 air tanker that carries 10 times more retardant than a CV-580.

A Canadian-owned, UK-built air tanker is being used today on fires in the United States. Missoula-based Neptune Aviation is leasing a BAe-146 from Tronos, the Canadian company that converted the airliner into an air tanker. Neptune has been awarded a contract for two more BAe-146s and expects to bring them on later this year. Aero Flite of Kingman, Arizona was also awarded a contract recently, for one air tanker, and is partnering with Conair of Abbotsford, British Columbia to convert an RJ85, which is similar to a BAe-146.

Status of the proposed legislation

The bill has only been introduced and has seen no action other than being referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.

CAL FIRE seeks agreement to use Channel Island National Guard base to reload air tankers

Bill GabbertMay 7, 2012September 30, 2019Uncategorizedair tanker, MAFFS3 Comments

Channel Island MAFFS C-130 2012 — A C-130J MAFFS from the 146th Airlift Wing during recertification, March 7, 2012. Photo by Senior Airman Nic Carzis.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) is negotiating an agreement with the California Air National Guard to enable Channel Island National Guard base (map) in Ventura County near Oxnard to be used as a reload base for air tankers working on wildfires. For years the base, the home of the 146th Airlift Wing, has been capable of reloading two C-130s stationed at the base outfitted with Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS) which can be slipped into the cargo hold enabling them to drop 3,000 gallons of fire retardant on fires, but other state or federal air tankers have not been allowed to use the base. John Winder, the CAL FIRE Assistant Deputy Director of Fire Protection Operations, told Wildfire Today that the goal of the agreement is for any military, state, or federal air tanker to be able to use the base for reloading. The U.S. Forest Service would also have to approve the use of the base before their contracted air tankers could use it since the federal agency has different requirements for reload bases than CAL FIRE.

The reload facility would be call-when-needed, most likely operated by CAL FIRE personnel who could have it up and running a few hours after being notified.

According to Mr. Winder, the Channel Islands base is one of only six locations in California where MAFFS air tankers can reload, with the others being Chico, Fresno, San Bernardino, Victorville, and Paso Robles. Not every base has runways, taxiways, and ramps that are capable of handling an aircraft the size and weight of a C-130.

The California Air National Guard C-130s can be activated for use on wildfires within the state fairly easily with approval from the Governor. To be used outside the state requires a more complex federal-level approval governed by an agreement specifying that the aircraft be able to respond within 48 hours, but they usually are mobilized within 36 hours. Both the state and federal approvals require some level of previous commitment of standard non-military air tankers on going fires.
Thanks go out to Johnny

Colorado MAFFS crews train for fire season

Bill GabbertApril 25, 2012January 23, 2013Uncategorizedair tanker, MAFFS

Earlier this year the crews that fly the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS) air tankers based in California and Wyoming conducted their annual training to be sure they are prepared to drop fire retardant on wildfires if all of the privately operated air tankers are committed. This week the Air Force Reserve unit at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs did the same, dropping water on the Base and in the Pike National Forest. In addition to the two C-130 MAFFS units in Colorado, three other bases in the United States have two aircraft each that are designated as MAFFS-deployable, stationed in California, Wyoming, and South Carolina.

Below are some photos that we received today of the Wyoming Air National Guard MAFFS crews that were taken during their training at Cheyenne and Camp Guernsey last week.

MAFFS II training conducted at the Wyoming Air Guard — Two C-130 MAFFS aircraft follow a lead plane during training for the WYOMING Air National Guard at Camp Guernsey, April 20, 2012. Photo by Master Sgt. Paul Mann

MAFFS c-130 air tanker — Crews load the replacement paratroop door through which the retardant will pass when it exits the C-130 in 2011 before deployment to assist with wildfires in Texas.

Wyoming Airmen fire-fighters — Crews install the replacement door for the MAFFS II in 2011 before deployment to assist with wildfires in Texas. Photo by Master Sgt. Paul Mann.

MAFFS training in Wyoming

Bill GabbertApril 19, 2012November 2, 2020Uncategorizedair tanker, MAFFS, Wyoming2 Comments

Wyoming Air National Guard MAFFS training at Camp Guernsey, Wyoming, April 16, 2012. Photo by Mr. Dewey Baars.

Last month the two Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS) air tankers based at the Channel Islands Air National Guard base in Port Hueneme, California participated in training for wildfire assignments. This week the two Wyoming Air National Guard MAFFS C-130s based in Cheyenne did the same thing. On Monday through Thursday they loaded the 3,000-gallon tanks with water instead of retardant, and flew 100 miles to practice dropping on the rolling terrain of Camp Guernsey in southeast Wyoming.

Besides the four MAFFS aircraft mentioned above, there are four others in Colorado and North Carolina, for a total of eight. The military C-130s are used only when the commercial air tankers on contract are totally utilized on going wildfires.

An article at trib.com has more details about the MAFFS training, and also has this about the federal fleet of air tankers:

…The number of commercial tanker planes under Forest Service contract has declined from 44 in 2002 to 11 this year. The planes are getting old and more expensive to maintain.

Western senators have taken note. Last month, four of them asked the Government Accountability Office to look into whether the Forest Service has done a good job of assessing its aerial firefighting needs.

Last week, Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado also expressed concern about the 1950s-era Lockheed P-2Vs that compose the remaining fleet.

“I am unconvinced the USFS’s current air tanker fleet is prepared to adequately address an immense wildfire or even what is sure to be a long fire season,” Udall wrote to Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell.

The U.S. Forest Service is eager to work with Congress to develop a quicker and more effective commercial tanker plane fleet, said Tom Harbour, national director of fire and aviation for the Forest Service.

The Forest Service didn’t call on the military planes at all in 2009, he said, and it’s not a certainty it will need to in the months and years ahead.

The Wyoming National Guard produced a 2.6 minute video about the training.

MAFFS training in California

Bill GabbertMarch 6, 2012January 23, 2013Uncategorizedair tanker, MAFFS2 Comments

MAFFS training 5-1-2010 — File photo from MAFFS training near Greenville, South Carolina May 1, 2010. Photo by Airman 1st Class Nicholas Carzis

The two Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS) air tankers based at the Channel Islands Air National Guard in Port Hueneme, California are participating in training this week for wildfire assignments. The portable MAFFS units can be inserted into the cargo holds of military C-130J aircraft within a few hours to be used when the privately-owned air tankers that are under contract to the federal government are committed on fires or otherwise not available. The training began on Monday and will conclude on Thursday.

Three other bases in the United States have two aircraft each that are designated as MAFFS-deployable, stationed in Colorado, Wyoming, and South Carolina. Usually the aircraft from multiple bases assemble in one area for their annual training and recertification, but this year the California aircraft and crews will not be joined by MAFFS aircraft from other states. Last year the Colorado and Wyoming units met in Idaho for the training, and in 2010 all four bases sent their aircraft to South Carolina. Major Kimberly Holman told us that a cost reduction initiative was the reason for the localized training.

This year in California, more than 100 personnel from he 146th Airlift Wing and the U.S. Forest Service will come together to accomplish the weeklong training sponsored by the USFS and the Air National Guard. The certification event will include classroom sessions and flight training for military flight crews, civilian lead plane pilots, and various support personnel. Water drops will be executed in the nearby Angeles National Forest and in Kern County. Rural residents in those areas may see low-flying C-130 aircraft and Forest Service lead planes throughout the week.

The Times-News has some other photos of the aircraft and personnel.

MAFFS air tankers activated, only one DC-10 crew left

Bill GabbertSeptember 9, 2011January 23, 2013Uncategorizedair tanker, MAFFS26 Comments

Preparing a MAFFS air tanker for deployment — Tech. Sgt. Mike Konegni, left, Airman Travis Mader, center, and Airman 1st Class Colton Shirley, with the 153rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Wyoming Air National Guard, based in Cheyenne, Wyo., place orange tape on a C-130 cargo plane identified for an aerial firefighting mission, in the western portion of the United States, Sept. 8, 2011. The tape helps other aircraft identify the plane as part of the coordinated firefighting efforts. Photo by 1st Lt. Christian Venhuizen

Yesterday the National Interagency Fire Center activated two C-130 Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System-equipped (MAFFS) aircraft and support personnel from the 187th Airlift Squadron, 153rd Airlift Wing, Wyoming Air National Guard, out of Cheyenne, Wyoming. They will be based in Boise to fight fires in Nevada, Utah, and Idaho.

This was done because there are only 11 large air tankers left in the United States that are on exclusive use contracts, contrasted with the 44 we had in 2002. Aero Union has closed its doors and shut down their P3 air tankers due to inspection, safety, and contract issues, and the U. S. Forest Service is not interested in awarding exclusive use contracts for Very Large Air Tankers (VLAT) like Evergreen’s 747 or 10 Tanker Air Carrier’s DC-10s. CAL FIRE cancelled their exclusive use contract on June 30 for one of the DC-10s due to the state’s budget crisis, even though they were very happy with the effectiveness of the aircraft on fires.

Both Evergreen and 10 Tanker were only offered Call When Needed (CWN) contracts by the USFS this year for their VLATs. The proposed contracts did not even have a minimum number of days that they would be used on each activation, such as the 5 days that are stipulated in CAL FIRE’s current DC-10 CWN contract. Evergreen told the agency that they could not maintain their 747 in response-ready condition, with crews, without any guaranteed income. 10 Tanker reluctantly signed the CWN contract.

Within the last few weeks the USFS temporarily brought on six CWN air tankers — three Convair 580s and three CL-215 scooper aircraft.

10 Tanker has two DC-10 air tankers, but at this time they only have one DC-10 air tanker crew, so they can only operate one aircraft at a time. When mandatory days off are required, they have to shut the aircraft down rather than bring in a relief crew. With no guaranteed contract, they can barely keep one crew available for CWN use.

One of the stated reasons for the USFS’s reluctance to use the VLATs is cost. But the MAFFS, with their large support crews, are not inexpensive. And the issue of using government air tankers instead of privately owned aircraft can’t be easily swept under the carpet.

Since dozens of air tankers were permanently grounded after two very old military surplus air tankers fell apart in mid-air in 2002, three studies have been commissioned to develop recommendations on how to reconstitute the large air tanker fleet. The last one was due in January, 2011, but it may not see the light of day until next year. But in the 9 years following those tragedies, nothing meaningful has been accomplished, and we’re down from 44 to 11 large air tankers. And no one has been fired.

One of the DC-10’s, the only one with a crew available, has been hired by the state of Texas for their current fire bust. At 12:40 p.m. MT they were reloading the aircraft with retardant for the third time today.

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