Military Crews Train for Wildfire Response

Military and civilian flight crews concluded a week of Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems (MAFFS) training on April 27 at Channel Islands Air National Guard Station in southern California. 

The exercise brought together personnel from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and other federal agencies, alongside Airmen from the Nevada Air National Guard’s 152nd Airlift Wing, the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Airlift Wing, the Air Force Reserve’s 302nd Airlift Wing, and the California Air National Guard’s 146th Airlift Wing.

The spring training recertified C-130 Hercules aircrews, civilian lead plane pilots, and federal and state support personnel to combat wildfires when commercial tankers are unavailable. Crews conducted 84 sorties, flew nearly 129 hours, and made 478 practice water drops totaling over 235,000 gallons in the Angeles National Forest, where low-flying aircraft may have been visible to residents.

The exercise was extended through April 28 to accommodate delayed flights for Colorado-based crews. While Nevada and Wyoming units returned home April 27, Colorado crews wrapped up a day later.

MAFFS units, which are owned by the Forest Service, can drop up to 3,000 gallons of retardant in five seconds, covering large fire lines or making incremental drops. The modular systems are loaded into C-130s and can be refilled in under 12 minutes. These aircraft offer surge capacity during peak wildfire periods and had already been activated earlier in the year to support firefighting near Los Angeles.