High temperatures and drought across the West are sparking an almost unprecedented operations tempo for Air Force firefighting C-130s and aircrews. C-130s from three Air National Guard wings and an Air Force Reserve wing are flying missions with the Modular Airborne Firefighting System, supporting the ...
A third specially equipped Air Force C-130 joined firefighting efforts in California this week as flames burn in five large fires in northern California. The Modular Airborne Firefighting System-equipped C-130H from the Nevada Air National Guard’s 152nd Airlift Wing began operating out of the former ...
With more than 1.3 million acres already damaged in wildfires this year and 56 large fires currently raging, the Air National Guard activated a specially equipped C-130 and crew to aid firefighting efforts across the western U.S. The National Interagency Fire Center requested the Guard's ...
Every year, Congress and the military debate which combat assets should head to the boneyard and which have more life left in them. Lawmakers often opt to keep Air Force systems that bring jobs to their districts, which complicates matters as the service looks to ...
Four Democratic senators are pushing the Air Force to send eight C-130J aircraft to the Nevada Air National Guard to bolster firefighting missions as the American West continues to suffer from devastating wildfires. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, and Dianne Feinstein ...
Air Force C-130s and Airmen wrapped up their firefighting season on Oct. 3 after helping extinguish a record number of blazes in California over more than two months. Since USAF's airborne firefighting units were activated July 22, specially equipped C-130s spent about 600 hours flying ...
California Air National MQ-9s have flown the length of the entire state, helping to coordinate responses to more than 24 fires that have been burning in the past two months. As of Sept. 28, there have been 7,982 total wildfires, burning more than 3.6 million ...
The California National Guard is employing National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency satellites in its fight against wildfires impacting the state. The state’s National Guard has “pioneered the use of space-based systems” that help it detect and map fires, as well as assess the damage they cause, California ...
Air National Guard reconnaissance aircraft are tracking the spread of record fires across California, with unmanned and manned aircraft providing video to help with the response. The California Air National Guard’s 195th Wing’s 234th Intelligence Squadron is using video feeds from MQ-9s and at least ...
C-130s from four Air National Guard and Reserve units, outfitted with Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems, are flying at a high operations tempo battling massive fires burning across California. The units had 2019 off from firefighting because of a slow season, but are now facing ...
60th Air Mobility Wing Commander Col. Corey A. Simmons gave non-essential Airmen and their families the all-clear to return to Travis Air Force Base, Calif., as of 10 a.m. PDT on Aug. 21, following a wildfire-induced evacuation on Aug. 19, the base announced in a ...
Non-essential personnel won’t be allowed to return to Travis Air Force Base, Calif., for at least one more day, and most base services remain shuttered after the LNU Lightning Complex Fire forced personnel and aircraft to preventatively evacuate from the installation on Aug. 19, according ...