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C-130
The Canadian government on Aug. 7 announced the conditional sale of 10 retired Lockheed Martin C-130Hs to British Columbia-based Coulson Aviation, which could allow the airlifters to join the civil fleet fighting the country’s raging wildfires.
Coulson intends to modify the former military aircraft with firefighting gear and certify them with Transport Canada for civil use, the government said in a news release. The sale remains pending while the contract is finalized and the parties await regulatory approvals from Transport Aircraft.
“We are ensuring that valuable military assets continue to serve Canadians,” said Joël Lightbound, minster of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement.
The Royal Canadian Air Force retired 12 C-130Hs in January, including four air refueling tankers and two configured for search-and-rescue missions. The other two aircraft will be donated to museums in Canada.
The government is not disclosing the sale price for the 10 aircraft, citing confidentiality.
Coulson already operates four C-130H aircraft among a larger fleet. One of those C-130Hs, called Tanker 138, began a 60-day exclusive use contract with the U.S. Wildland Fire Service last week, becoming the first large “airtanker” put on contract by the new federal agency, the company said on Aug. 4.
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