Air National Guard C-130 aircrew are training their US Forest Service counterparts to employ the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System to augment wildfire suppression capability. The USFS crews are flying the first of seven HC-130Hs, which were passed from the Coast Guard in exchange for 14 former ANG C-27J Spartans, according to a release. “We are extremely pleased to be able to leverage our experience and our long-standing relationship with the USFS to provide this critical training,” said Wyoming ANG 153rd Airlift Wing Commander Col. Bradley Swanson. The unit is conducting the training amidst ongoing firefighting operations at McClellan Airfield, Calif., where several of the unit’s C-130s are currently forward deployed. The Forest Service will use the roll-on MAFFS units through the 2016 fire season, after which its HC-130s will be retrofit with permanent fire-fighting equipment. All seven aircraft are scheduled for delivery by 2019, according to the release.
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design, the Air Force said.