This article is published in Aerospace Daily & Defense Report part of Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN), and is complimentary through Jun 03, 2026. For information on becoming an AWIN Member to access more content like this, click here.
A400M
An Airbus A400M airlifter equipped with an aerial firefighting system will bolster Spain’s wildfire attack capability this year, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has confirmed.
The addition of the A400M to Spain’s firefighting arsenal will give the country a large airtanker capability for the first time, growing the capacity of Spain’s aerial firefighting fleets.
“We’ll have a fleet of 15 amphibious aircraft, the new Airbus A400 firefighting kit, and four new Chinook helicopters and two Cougar helicopters,” Sanchez said May 21 at a presentation of the 2026 forest fire prevention campaign at Torrejon air base.
Sanchez did not say how many A400Ms might be equipped with the system, which can drop up to 20,000 liters of water or retardant. A De Havilland Canada CL-415, by comparison, can drop up to 6,000 liters.
Last year Spain experienced one of its worst wildfire seasons in its history, with 350,000 hectares burned.
“Every year it strikes us, and unfortunately it does so with greater force and ferocity. It arrives earlier, it’s more aggressive, and it’s also more difficult to fight,” Sanchez said.
The addition of the A400M from the Spanish air force was part of an increase in capabilities for national firefighting, he said.
Airbus has been working on a roll-on, roll-off firefighting system for the A400M for several years. Last year, the system was tested by a French institution–Ceren–approved to assess forest firefighting equipment. The Spanish air force has been involved as technical advisors in the project.
Related Content
