Operations
France Deploys First Firefighting A400M Aircraft
Modified military airlifter rushed in to help contain wildfires
A400M flying low dropping orange retardant
A ‘roll-on, roll-off’ kit – enabling the drop of around 22 tonnes of fire retardant - was first tested on the A400M last year. © Airbus Defence and Space

France has become the first nation to deploy the firefighting capabilities of Airbus Defence and Space’s A400M tactical transport in a real-world setting. While tests of the modified four-engine turboprop aircraft were conducted earlier this year, the ongoing blazes in the southwest of the country prompted officials to rush one of the twinjets into firefighting service on July 25.

On July 10, France’s director of civil protection told a ministerial committee that France intended to use its A400Ms for aerial firefighting: a role hitherto only explored in a trial setting. On July 17, Interior minister Laurent Lunez promised that the A400M “will be tested in real conditions against forest fires within 15 days.”