Three heavy aircraft and seven light helicopters from the Portuguese Air Force (FAP) would require adaptation with an “airborne modular firefighting system” to be used in combating wildfires. This system includes a tank capable of carrying 12,000 liters.
The kit was first utilized by the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) in July 2024, and according to the entity, it has “been an effective tool in fighting forest fires, such as in the Pantanal and the interior of São Paulo state,” the report states.
In a statement on its website, FAB states that the KC-390 is suitable for “large-scale forest firefighting.”
The six KC-390s purchased by Portugal from Brazil’s Embraer, intended to replace the Lockheed C-130 aircraft, which have been in the FAP service for over 45 years, are not primarily focused on firefighting missions, but they can be utilized for such tasks.
When the contract for the aircraft purchase from Embraer was signed in August 2019, Socialist Minister João Gomes Cravinho stated that the KC-390 would have a “dual-use – civilian and military, including firefighting,” but did not explain that the contract did not include the procurement of the kit enabling this mission, the daily noted.
The KC-390 can only be refueled at an airfield, unlike amphibious planes that can quickly refill in a river or lake, and it requires about 40 minutes to take off again, which affects the pace of discharges.
However, as the report explains, it can transport 12,000 liters of water and does not need to release it all at once, allowing a single load to be used for multiple fires.
