Interagency Aviation Strategy - July 2008 - National Wildfire ...

and retaining ownership, is recommended. The goal to acquire 25 new aircraft is derived
from the 2005 Wildland Fire Management Aerial Application Study.
With large air tanker numbers being reduced from the 44 aircraft available at the
beginning of 2002 and the 33 aircraft available at the beginning of 2004, this proposal
accomplishes the objective of “fewer and newer” aircraft.
The most suitable aircraft for the large fixed wing airtanker mission, based on our
investigation, is the Hercules II C-130J manufactured by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics
Company. This aircraft fully meets the immediate and future operational requirements.
It can perform multiple fire missions, and has a proven track record as a retardant
delivery platform. The C-130J could carry up to 4,000 gallons of wildland fire retardant
and provides a 35% increase in speed over our fastest airtanker, the P-3. The C-130J is a
strong, safe, and fast aircraft designed for military requirements very similar to the
firefighting mission.
Cost: Initial acquisition costs are approximately $60 million each, totaling
approximately $1.5 billion for 25 aircraft over a ten year replacement period, possibly
beginning in 2010. Lower operating costs over the life of the aircraft will offset the
initial acquisition costs. Performance measures for the C-130J and other airtankers are
listed in the chart below for comparison.
Aircraft
Model
Speed Capacity Sorties¹ Average
Daily
Cost
Cost
per
gallon
Acres
Protected/hour²
C-130J 350mph 3600³ 11 $80,650 $2.03 246 million
gallons
P-3 250mph 2550 8 $74,740 $4.88 126 million
gallons
P2V 210mph 2082 6 $46,100 $4.42 89 million
gallons
SEAT 160mph 800 5 $19,850 $4.96 51 million
AT-802
Helitanker
S-64
115mph 2400
gallons
3 $127,400 $13.27 27 million
(1) The number of initial attack missions of 100 miles possible in 6 hours.
(2) The number of acres that would be covered in a one hour flight.
(3) The current capacity of the MAFFS units for the C-130H is 3,000 gallons. The C-130J is capable of carrying
3,600 gallons of retardant.
The US Air Force is reporting cost saving of up to 45% in C-130J operating expenses
compared to previous C-130 models. These savings were due, in part, to reduced
maintenance, nearly 20% increase in fuel economy, and smaller crew requirements.
Additional wildland fire management program savings will be realized from fewer
airtankers bases, fewer large helicopters, and possibly from cost sharing use of the
C130J’s with other agencies (e.g. NOAA, USCG, Border Patrol, etc) or by allowing the
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