Flying Firefighters: C-130 planes integrated with MAFFS against fires

It is imperative that the available resources are used in the most effective and timely manner in response to forest fires, which become a hot topic in hot weather every summer, and possible fires that may occur in facilities of strategic importance throughout the year (such as TÜPRAŞ). Considering the country's forests and important facilities, an "aerial firefighting" fleet should be established, and this fleet should have aircraft, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles with adequate features. The existence of such a fleet is not a luxury for a country. It is a necessity, it is the insurance of the country. It is not a matter to be left to the initiative of a few bureaucrats, to myopic perspectives, and to be entrusted to their shallow minds. This is an issue that needs to be approached with the mind of the state and requires a "common mind" not only for those living in Turkey today, but also for our children, who are the guarantee of our future, who will live in this geography in the future.

It is a necessity of this common mind to make use of military means and capabilities when necessary in such an important matter. In a way, a "dual-purpose" approach should be adopted. For the assurance of national security, the capabilities of aircraft, especially helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles and transport aircraft, which are a necessity to be in the inventory of the Turkish Armed Forces within the scope of defense planning needs in peacetime, should also be taken into account. For some aircraft, it is only possible to establish the necessary mechanism with the protocols to be signed between the General Directorate of Forestry and the Air Force Command, and to intervene in fires (airborne reconnaissance, surveillance, personnel transport, aid material transport, etc.) it could be.

However, in order to be able to use some aircraft against fires, it may be necessary to make some preliminary preparations such as making some modifications, completing the integration of mobile systems, taking/following the initial and refresher trainings of the flight crew. For example, C-130 transport aircraft must be “prepared” in accordance with firefighting requirements as part of preliminary preparation before the fire period. In this context, the "Modular Airborne Fire Response System (MAFFS)" was integrated into the Lockheed Martin-made C-130 Hercules aircraft, one of the leading aircraft of a military cargo transport, by the USA in the 1970s. MAFFS is a mobile, aircraft-independent system that can be loaded into the cargo compartment of the aircraft, thus enabling it to respond to forest fires with C-130 aircraft when necessary.

The interruption of the American Congress in the use of resources for the purchase of aircraft to be used in the fight against forest fires triggered the US officials responsible for forest services to seek new quests. The MAFFS program was born as a result of this. A cooperation program with the Air Force was established by the US Forestry Administration, and a modular system was sought that could be carried on C-130 aircraft. A mobile tank was designed that could be deployed on a standard C-130 transport aircraft, and the first flight tests were conducted by Aero Union in California in July 1971.

MAFFS is the name given to the assembly consisting of a 10 220-liter tank, the related equipment carried with the tank, the control panel, and the air compressor, resulting from the addition of five liquid reservoirs to each other. MAFFS, which can be carried in the cargo hold, was integrated into the C-130 E and H models in the 1970s.

In this system, called MAFFS I, the extinguishing liquid is released within 8 seconds by spraying out of two pipes hanging out of the cargo door of the aircraft. The system can discharge all 10 220 liters of liquid (water or chemical retarders, mixtures) in five seconds during a fire. When the system is used in the air, it provides a coverage area of ​​18 m (width) and 400 m (length) in a total area of ​​7 200 m², which will affect the fire. After the aircraft returns to the field, the filling process of the MAFFS I system can be completed within 8 minutes and the aircraft can be returned to the fire area.

Later, the new model MAFFS system developed by Aero Union was named MAFFS II. This new system with 11 000 liter tank chamber is designed as a single tank instead of using articulated chambers. The flight tests of the MAFFS II system, which was adapted to the C-130 H aircraft, were successfully completed in August 2007 and it has been used against fires since 2008. Spray lance, one on MAFFS II The liquid is released from the spray lance, which hangs out of the paratrooper jump door in the area near the tail side of the aircraft and the aircraft. The unloading time has also been improved, lasting 5 seconds. When the MAFFS II system is used in the air, it provides a coverage area of ​​30 m (width) and 400 m (length) to cover a fire in a total area of ​​12 000 m².

MAFFS systems are registered in the “Forest Administration” inventory. A total of 8 MAFFS are in use in the United States, with pre-determined C-130 squadrons assigned by the Department of Defense at the request of the Forest Service office. MAFFS assignments are given to C-130 fleets stationed in a total of 4 different locations (California, Neveda, Wyoming, Colorado). Planning and protocols have been made to ensure that it is ready for use throughout the year, and a maximum of 24 hours of pre-preparation time (withdrawal of military aircraft from military missions, preparation of aircraft for MAFFS loadings, control of systems, flight crews) of fire fighting units that need the use of the system. It has been determined as a standard rule to give the necessary preparation time for his assignment, etc. The cost of MAFFS flights is covered by the payments made to the Ministry of Defense by the relevant Forestry Administration requesting firefighting. MAFFS flight crews are trained and refreshed in fire drills held throughout the USA every year.

MAFFS-equipped C-130s have also been used in Mexico, Europe, Africa and Indonesia in response to requests for assistance, as well as in US fires. In addition to the USA, the countries currently using the MAFFS system are:

Brazil: 2 MAFFS I systems (C-130) are in use. In the near future, the MAFFS II system will be integrated into the KC-390 aircraft, and MAFFS I will be cancelled.

Colombia: 1 MAFFS II system (C-130) is in use, and soon the KC-390 will be used instead of the C-130.

Greece: The MAFFS I system (C-130) is used.

Italy: The MAFFS I system (C-130) is used.

Portugal: The MAFFS I system (C-130) is in use, and soon the KC-390 with the MAFFS II system will be used instead of the C-130.

Thailand: The MAFFS I system (C-130) is used.

Tunisia: MAFFS I and II systems (C-130) are used.

Morocco: The MAFFS I system (C-130) is used.

Together with global warming, the period of combating the fire disaster that we have been experiencing since the last week of July 2021 has shown us that Turkey needs an aircraft that can respond to a large number of fires. There is no delay in this need. Experts constantly state that global warming will continue to increase in the near future. So we don't have the luxury to stop and wait for the weather to cool.

As in the countries mentioned above, Turkey also had the MAFFS system in 1998 and used it against fires for a few years. We evaluate the reusability of this system, which our country has, if necessary, and consider it useful to consider re-engaging these systems integrated into C-130 aircraft against forest fires as a complementary application, in addition to other solutions to be developed.

MAFFS Integration to C-130 B Aircraft in Turkish Air Force Inventory

With the protocol signed between the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (now the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) and the Turkish Air Force Command in 1998, the procurement process for the integration of the MAFFS system for 6 C-130B Military Transport Aircraft was initiated. 1 MAFFS system was purchased ready-made (with flight training) from the USA. It was decided that the other five systems would be produced by the 2nd Air Supply and Maintenance Center Command in Kayseri. The first flights with the MAFFS kit supplied from the USA were carried out during the TÜPRAŞ fire on 17-19 August 1999. Air Force C-130 aircraft responded to the fire that broke out after the earthquake in this strategic facility of our country with MAFFS kits used in a total of 39 sorties flight missions from Antalya and then Yenişehir airports.

The effectiveness of the MAFFS system has been proven during the response to the TÜPRAŞ fire. As emphasized in TÜPRAŞ FIRE MEMORY, where one of our pilots, who participated in the fire mission at that time, wrote his memoirs about this incident, it became clear that such fires should be intervened with more aircraft and MAFFS systems.

Within the resource planning of our state, the production cost of the kits used in the MAFFS system in Turkey was covered by the Defense Industry Presidency (formerly the Undersecretariat). The produced kits were delivered to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. It was decided that the Air Force would be responsible for the maintenance and maintenance of the kits, the loading and use of the relevant personnel of this ministry against fires. Despite the protocol, the 12th Air Transport Base Command stationed in Kayseri during the winter months carried out the maintenance of the kits and found the appropriate hanger. 

In the meantime, upon evaluations that hairline crack formation may occur in C-130 aircraft used in firefighting activities and that this may cause major structural problems in aircraft later on, studies on the need to suspend the use of the national MAFFS project and C-130 aircraft within this framework are to be carried out at the Air Force Headquarters. has been in the situation. Considering that the number of C-130 aircraft, which has a limited number of C-130s in its inventory and some of which are undergoing avionics modernization (Erciyes project), can only meet military needs, the Turkish Air Force has evaluated that the emerging structural problem may have a negative impact on military needs for the future. Considering that C-130 aircraft, which have strategic importance in the transport of military forces/materials from one place to another in a possible war, should be used primarily for security and defense needs, and if such firefighting missions are continued, there may not be enough C-130 aircraft in the inventory in the future. His forces may have felt the need to withdraw their C-130B aircraft from firefighting missions.

As a result, in 2006, on the grounds of structural damage caused by heavy load and high G, probably also due to the civilian C-130A accident in the USA on 17 June 2002, the C-130's under the 222nd Air Transport Fleet Command in Kayseri. The use of integrated MAFFS kits has been discontinued. However, the aircraft that made the killing and the aircraft in the Air Force inventory are not the same, and the modern maintenance facilities of the Air Force were not applied to the old C-130A aircraft, and this type of accident occurred because these aircraft were neglected in a way.

As with other aircraft, accidents naturally occur with C-130 aircraft used as firefighting aircraft:

-- On June 17, 2002, it was a "civilian" C-130A aircraft built in 1957 that was fighting a fire in California, discontinued military use in 1986. In the accident, due to the fatigue at the bottom of the wing, it fell first as a result of the bending/breaking of the right and then the left wing. In the accident investigation, it was brought to the agenda that the necessary structural controls were neglected during the civilian use of the aircraft, that this could also happen in the tanker aircraft of all other civilian enterprises, and attention was drawn to the proper maintenance of the aircraft. Thereupon, the US Forestry Administration canceled the firefighting contracts of civilian tankers temporarily (until structural improvements/maintenances are completed), except for military C-130 aircraft with MAFFS system.

-- The reason for the crash of the C-130 plane that crashed in the USA during the response to the fire on July 1, 2012 was shown as "the turbulence of the air in the fire area and the sudden and severe wind change at low altitude causing the aircraft to be unable to be controlled by the pilots".

-- The reason for the crash of the C-130Q (formerly used in electronic warfare duties) aircraft (the civilian version operated by the Coulson company as the T-134 aircraft), which crashed in the accident in Australia on January 23, 2020, was "responding to the fire at low altitude in bad weather conditions" It was stated that there was no structural/material fatigue in the crashed aircraft. As these two accidents clearly demonstrate, absolute compliance with flight safety requirements is a must for C-130 pilots responding to fires with MAFFS kits. Also, pilots without MAFFS flight training should not be scheduled for firefighting missions.

Forest fire response flights are highly risky missions compared to normal military transport missions performed by the Air Force. Fire-fighting flights can be seen as a type of mission that is somewhat similar to the "low-altitude material dumping" missions of the 222nd Fleet Command in Kayseri. In particular, having to fly over flames and making transitions for fire extinguishing, which in principle requires "the lower the altitude, the more effective result", apart from military duties, it is necessary for the flight crew to receive additional training and for the trained personnel to constantly "fire duty waits" points with good planning. requires vigilance. This is indeed a critical factor that challenges the Air Force in terms of personnel when it lacks sufficient flight crews. It is also normal for MAFFS missions to impose some burdens on the Air Force in addition to military duties.

The MAFFS II system, which is being used by many countries today, was made especially for the H and J models of C130 aircraft. For this reason, it allows its use in aircraft after an electrical modification lasting 2-3 hours without the need for structural modifications on these aircraft. Although not as much as H and J, with additional workmanship/repair modifications, MAFFS II can be used rapidly and We think that the national version, which will be produced as an equivalent or equivalent, can be passed on to all existing C-130 aircraft in our country. In any case, it is obvious that it is necessary to “re-evaluate” the use of existing MAFFS kits in C-130 aircraft by modernizing and, if necessary, manufacturing/purchasing new ones, especially in July-August during the summer period, taking into account the country's needs. If this approach can be implemented again, MAFFS systems to be deployed in Gaziantep, Hatay, Adana, Antalya, Dalaman, Bodrum, İzmir and Edremit squares can be used in order to respond to fires in a short time, especially in July and August periods. In periods when fire incidents increase and the situation becomes critical, C-130 aircraft can be kept “fire waiting” in these airports 24/7, if necessary, together with the flight crew. There may be an assessment that the need for C-130 aircraft is "strategic". In this case, a suitable number of transport aircraft from the CN-235 CASA aircraft in the Turkish Air Force inventory can be used against fires by integrating smaller MAFFS kits with these aircraft. CASA company already has technical studies in this sense, and the necessary technical support can be obtained easily.

It is obvious that such a “fire-waits” system will tire the Air Force. As an alternative solution, the use of civilian C-130 aircraft as firefighting aircraft, which will be integrated into the Air Force maintenance management system if necessary, can be considered, which will bring less burden to the Air Force. Under the leadership of the General Directorate of Forestry, C-130 aircraft, which can be taken out of their inventories, can be evaluated in this context, since there is no military need by some countries. It should also be taken into account that by integrating the MAFFS system into the C-130 aircraft to be purchased, these aircraft can be used effectively against fires for many years, with the status of civil fire extinguishing tankers, by an operating company or as aircraft to be operated by the own organization of the General Directorate of Forestry.

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