MAFFS aircraft join firefighting efforts in Texas, Northwest U.S.

  • Published
  • AFNORTH Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Under the direction of the Joint Forces Air Component Commander for Air Forces Northern at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., six Department of Defense C-130 aircraft equipped with U.S. Forest Service Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems - MAFFS - will deploy in support of the National Interagency Fire Center to supplement wildland firefighting efforts in Texas and in the Northwest U.S.

Four MAFFS-equipped aircraft, two from the Air Force Reserve Command's 302nd Airlift Wing, Peterson AFB, Colo., and two from the 145th Airlift Wing of the North Carolina Air National Guard will deploy to Austin, Texas, to support the ongoing wildland fires there. Two MAFFS equipped C-130s and crews from the 153rd Airlift Wing assigned Wyoming Air National Guard will stage out of Boise, Idaho, to provide support as needed for fires in the West and Northwest U.S. In addition to the six MAFFS-equipped C-130s, approximately 90 Air Reserve Component crews and support personnel will deploy to support the aerial firefighting missions.

The 302nd AEG is comprised of personnel from the Air Force Reserve Command's 302nd Airlift Wing, Colo., North Carolina Air National Guard's 145th Airlift Wing, California Air National Guard's 146th Airlift Wing and Wyoming Air National Guard's 153rd Airlift Wing.

MAFFS is a self-contained, portable aerial firefighting system, which can discharge 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in less than five seconds, over an area one-quarter of a mile long by 60 feet wide. Once the load is discharged, the MAFFS system can be refilled in less than 12 minutes.

With the use of new MAFFS II units, this year's fire season was the first to successfully fly fire missions using a new concept of operations that increased the effectiveness while decreasing costs.

The MAFFS units are owned by the U.S. Forest Service, one of several federal and state government agencies and organizations with roles and responsibilities in wildland fire suppression that make up the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. The Department of Defense is flying at the request of NIFC.

The Department of Defense, through the commander, U.S. Northern Command provides support to the NIFC in conducting wildland firefighting operations within the continental United States, Alaska, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands as approved by the Secretary of Defense.

AFNORTH is the air component for U.S. Northern Command and when tasked, provides support to local, state, tribal, regional and federal emergency service agencies.