Rebuilding the USFS contract LAT (Large Airtanker) fleet

By Jim Barnes:

 

The time to rebuild our Nation’s large airtanker fleet is now.  The evidence is in.  Large, destructive and deadly fires are on the increase because of the lack of adequate initial attack response by Federal agencies.  Key to that response is providing air support by large airtankers during extreme burn conditions.  The U.S. Forest Service is now woefully underequipped to provide that support.

 

After the demise of a large segment of the commercial airtanker industry every other option to fill the role of the large airtanker 2000-3000 gal capacity has been tried and found wanting.  The VLAT (very large airtanker) and the SEAT (single engine airtanker) have proven their worth and are now valuable assets to our Nation’s fleet.  National Guards MAFFs units provide us with a much-needed emergency capability but they cannot effectively replace the commercial fleet. Our Guard Units are war fighters and face mission requirements that are incalculable.  As a military asset they will never be solely dedicated to firefighting and may not be here when we need them the most.

 

• Modern large airtankers that carry 2000 to 3000 gallons provide a good balance of speed, maneuverability and payload.

 

• They can operate off medium size runways allowing for a basing strategy that provides a tactical spread throughout the Western states.

 

• Their cost is not so high as to preclude their use in rapid response initial attack.

 

• Their relatively high cruse speeds and long range provides an effective staging capability to move airtanker assets anywhere in the Country when the fire situation is time critical.

 

• Most importantly is the availability of crews that possess the experience and skill sets that makes an airtanker an effective tool.

 

Going from more than 40 large airtankers to 10 for our entire Nation is the cause of several unintended consequences.  Factoring in days off for crews makes the availability of the entire fleet 8 or less per day.  That number is further reduced by aircraft out of service for maintenance.  This results in rationing of airtankers that are badly needed.  With an entire Nation to serve there is no basing strategy to provide a tactical spread that would ensure a timely initial attack response anywhere using large airtankers.

 

In California, State airtankers are often impressed into service to fill the void of a dwindling Federal fleet.  What used to be a very effective mutual aid strategy between State and Federal agencies is now badly out of balance.  With multiple fires on Federal lands State tankers are pulled away from their initial attack response areas leaving high value, high threat, wildland urban interface with less than optimum coverage.  Backup by large Federal airtankers on State fires is also dramatically reduced.

 

 

In these times of gathering threats a dedicated fleet of large airtankers based strategically to insure a timely initial attack strike is essential to providing our Nation the protection we need.