US Northern Command officials decided last week to preposition four Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System-equipped aircraft in California in anticipation of possible new wildfire outbreaks as Santa Ana winds grew in force. NORTHCOM deployed two MAFFS aircraft from the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Airlift Wing and two from Air Force Reserve Command’s 302nd Airlift Wing in Colorado.
The Air Force plans to conduct more intensive training—and Congress is set to help by boosting funding for exercises and so-called “campaigning” by hundreds of millions of dollars, particularly in the Pacific.
