NATIONAL LARGE AIR TANKER LANDS IN AUSTRALIA

A Commonwealth-funded Large Air Tanker has begun its service in Australia, boosting the aerial capability of Australian fire services this bushfire season. The arrangement has been secured with the help of the AFAC National Aerial Firefighting Centre.

modification and maintenance. It had also been painted in the new Coulson livery in Roswell, New Mexico.

it can operate from remote airfields where only water is available.

The customised Boeing 737 Fireliner, a Large Air Tanker (LAT) contracted through Coulson Aviation, will initially be based in WA. The National LAT will be a major support for air and ground crews and can work in locations that may not be accessible to other firefighting resources. It can reach a fire just about anywhere in Australia within hours and, when it does, can drop 15,000 L of retardant or water on the fire.

The Fireliner is a modified Boeing 737-300 passenger transport aircraft— the world’s most produced passenger jetliner, used by airlines, the military, and for cargo.

Coulson Aviation is the only company in the world to convert Boeing 737 commercial airliners into the multi-mission Fireliner. The aircraft deployed to Australia, called ‘Tanker 139’, is the newest Coulson 737 Fireliner. By the time it took flight as a LAT, it had undergone 50,000 hours of

It then went on contract for the summer with the United States Forest Service. Its inaugural drop was on the Washburn Fire, with ‘Tanker 137’—the National LAT previously deployed to Australia for the 2021–22 bushfire season—nearby.

Coulson Aviation has designed and certified a modification to the Boeing 737 to integrate a 4,300 US gallon firebombing system. This derives from the Coulson RADS-XXL system carried in C130 and L100 air tankers based on the well-regarded Aero Union RADS 1 firebombing tank. A 15,142 L load of fire-retardant solution can be carried onboard the aircraft.

The modified system, called the RADSXXL/2, splits this load between two tank systems, one forward and one aft of the wings. The GPS-linked, computer-controlled firebombing system delivers a constant flow of fire retardant or suppressant to the target area.

The Boeing 737 can carry an onboard system for mixing fire suppressant solutions. This means that

Tested by fire agencies in North America and in Australia, it will be used primarily for firebombing both to attack new fires with fire suppressant and for line building with fire retardant on larger fires. This flexibility enables the Boeing 737 to work in both urban areas and in remote areas such as parks and forests.

In addition to its firebombing role, the Boeing 737 air tanker can also to transport passengers and cargo, subject to local regulatory approval.

It can operate from many airfields across Australia and in many conditions. On a 40°C day with a full retardant load and three hours’ supply of fuel, the aircraft requires a 2,300 m runway, but shorter runways can be used when there is less fuel or a lighter load, or on cooler days.

The Boeing 737 air tanker operates alongside other firefighting aircraft to support crews on the ground. Carried onboard the aircraft is sophisticated communication and tracking equipment that keeps the aircraft in constant contact with other aircraft and the crews managing fires on the ground.

„ Type 1 Air tanker

„ Primary role: firebombing

„ Other roles: crew and cargo transport

„ Two pilot crew, up to 72 passengers

„ RADS-XXL/2 constant flow firebombing system

„ 15,142 L retardant capacity

„ Cruise speed (loaded) up to 850 km/h

„ Typical cruise altitude (loaded) 25,000 ft

„ Typical runway required 1,950m

„ 33 m length, 31.2 m wingspan

„ Up to 61,700 kg gross weight

„ Two 9,100 kg thrust CFM 56-3 turbo fan engines

„ Jet-A1 fuel consumption up to 3,400 L/hr

„ Two plus fire agency radios, satellite tracking

The National LAT started its service in WA on 15 December 2022 at Busselton Air Base in the south-west of the state. This positioning was determined in part by the fire risk identified in the AFAC Seasonal Bushfire Outlook for Summer 2022, which highlighted this region’s higher risk early in the bushfire season. As the season progresses, the National LAT will move so it can respond to risk as agreed by state and territory fire agency chiefs and commissioners.

The WA Government will fund the operational costs for the National LAT while it is based in the state, and Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA Commissioner Darren Klemm AFSM said it will provide a valuable boost to the state’s standing capability.

“The seasonal outlook for this summer indicates that large parts of WA are going to experience an increased bushfire risk—we know that we’re going to see difficult days this season,” he said.

“Large Air Tankers are incredibly effective at building containment lines to stop the spread of bushfires, helping our firefighters on the ground to protect lives and properties. Each day during the summer bushfire season there will be more than 30 aircraft on standby in WA, ready to be called upon in an emergency.”

The aircraft has been named ‘Phoenix’ following a nationwide naming competition held for regional primary schools in 2022. Three schools shared the honour of naming the aircraft as all of them came up with ‘Phoenix’. Students from Bishop Druitt College in Coffs Harbour, Christian College Geelong, and St Patrick’s College in Campbelltown saw the mythological fire bird as the perfect metaphor for Australia’s new aerial firefighter.

The students identified an obvious parallel with the famous fire bird and its links to renewal and rising from the flames, with Bishop Druitt College explaining that “the lands suffered from fire, but the LAT swooped in to help put the fires out, which then gave the burnt land an opportunity to grow again”.

The name ‘Phoenix’ is featured on the livery of the aircraft as it operates through the 2022–23 bushfire season in Australia.

In addition to the National LAT, the National Aerial Firefighting Centre contracts approximately 150 aircraft on behalf of state and territory governments. This fleet is supplemented by additional state owned and contracted aircraft hired to meet peak demand across Australia. In total more than 500 aircraft, provided by over 150 operators, are available for firefighting across Australia.

View the 2022–23 fleet at www.nafc.org.au/fleet