AINonline
• Charlotte Bailey
Kepplair has started converting ATR 72 regional airliners into water bombers, with an aircraft completing a pre-modification flight in Toulouse. The effort repurposes an established turboprop platform for aerial firefighting missions and marks the beginning of the modification program.
Aerial Firefighting
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Kepplair has started converting ATR 72 regional airliners into water bombers, with an aircraft completing a pre-modification flight in Toulouse. The effort repurposes an established turboprop platform for aerial firefighting missions and marks the beginning of the modification program.
French firm Kepplair is preparing an ATR 72 conversion for aerial firefighting and expects to obtain supplemental type certification for the modification in 2027. The project would adapt the turboprop platform for a specialized mission, subject to certification approval.
Austrian operator Kitz-Air has acquired three Airbus H225 heavy-lift helicopters from Milestone Aviation Group, expanding its fleet for specialized aerial firefighting missions. The transaction is Kitz-Air’s first with the helicopter lessor and supports its plans to strengthen firefighting capabilities globally.
Indonesia has intensified ground and aerial firefighting across four provinces as drought and a prolonged dry season fuel fires in forests and peatlands, sending haze into Malaysia. Malaysia is preparing cloud-seeding operations near shared borders, while Indonesia plans to open airspace to support the effort.
French start-up Hynaero is developing a new water-bombing aircraft intended as an alternative to the Canadair platform. Rising wildfire activity across Europe is strengthening the case for additional aerial firefighting capacity and could create an opportunity for a new regional aircraft program.
As wildfires spread across Europe during another hot summer, satellites are providing earlier fire detection and detailed imagery of affected areas. The data can help authorities identify outbreaks sooner, assess damage more quickly and coordinate responses across large or difficult-to-access regions.
Spanish investigators are examining an airprox involving an Airbus A320neo and aircraft supporting a wildfire response near Malaga. The airliner aborted its approach after encountering firefighting traffic; two aircraft involved in the Cadiz wildfire operation were reportedly heading to a heliport to refill.
France conducted its first nighttime waterbombing drops from Aug. 17 to 18, 2026, using an Australian CH-47D Chinook stationed at Mont-de-Marsan since early August. The borrowed helicopter provides a capability unavailable from any aircraft in France’s current inventory, extending wildfire response beyond daylight operations.
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