The European aircraft manufacturer Airbus revealed to the press, Monday, July 25, the tests of its military transporter the A400M transformed into a water bomber. A solution yet far from meeting the needs of the strategy to fight against fires in France.
At first glance the idea is attractive. Equip the A400M military transport plane with removable tanks and transform the Airbus aircraft into a water bomber. The aircraft manufacturer opportunely carried out a test campaign, the week of July 19 in Getafe in Spain, and opportunely communicated on the subject, while France is hard hit by terrible fires in Gironde, Occitania and Brittany.
In a press release, the aircraft manufacturer claims that the A400M dropped, during the day, 20 tonnes of water in less than ten seconds by flying at an altitude of less than 50 meters using two tanks installed in the hold of the aircraft.
This kit”does not require any modification to the aircraft and is therefore interchangeable with all aircraft in the A400M fleet“, according Airbus who launched the project nine months ago. Its capacity (20,000 liters of water against 6,000 for a Canadair) and its qualification to fly at night are highlighted.
The project is presented as a supplement to existing air resources in the face of the fires which are increasing in summer in Europe. “The objective is not to compete with Canadair but to complement” assures Jean-Brice Dumont, vice-president in charge of military aircraft at Airbuson franceinfo, which revealed the information with Le Parisien.
“It’s good that companies are interested in these questions“reacts Christophe Govillot, Canadair pilot, based in Nîmes. But for the representative of Union civil aviation aircrew, it is not certain that this option is the right response to firefighting needs.
“We are extremely lucky to have a lot of water points in Franceexplains the pilot. This allows our Canadairs to refuel quickly with water and to perform very very short rotations.“
The device thus allows “surgical strikes“on the most points”hot“even on the steepest terrain.
This is not the case with the A400M. The Airbus plane must return to land to fill its tanks. Another problem: as we can see on this video provided by the European manufacturer, there is no mass effect during the water drop but a long drag.
video length: 01 min 15
A400M water bomber
•
©Airbus SAU 2022 Mango Productions
“If there is no mass effect, as with the Canadair, it gives a “shower” effect and it is useless“says Christophe Govillot.
The observation is not new. The ancestor of the A400M, the Transall, had already experimented with this device. Its weaknesses combined with a significant risk of stalling the device had led to abandon the project.
“The option of large carriers has already been studiedas in the early 2010s with the Beriev 200 (built by a former subsidiary of Airbus, ex EADS). This choice was not retained. Is a device like the A400M really useful?asks the water bomber pilot.
To continue to cope with the multiplication of fires, the National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Crew calls above all for more ground infrastructure such as pelicandromasmore personnel and above all the acquisition of new Canadairs and Dash.