A great deployment of resources has been made by the Colombian Aerospace Force (FAC) since last November 30, 2023 to provide support in multiple conflagrations in the national territory, using aircraft with specialized systems to monitor or determine the most appropriate courses of action.
Magdalena, Antioquia, Meta, Santander, Norte de Santander, Vichada and Cundinamarca, are some of the departments where the Colombian Aerospace Force aircraft and their crews have been operating, in highly complex missions that require training, expertise and planning in which all the determining factors for the safety and effectiveness of the operation must be taken into account.
For this type of missions, it is required to fly at low altitude and speed, helicopters are the ideal means for this purpose. Ten helicopters have been configured with special equipment known as Bambi Bucket throughout the national territory to fight forest fires.
Since the beginning of the dry season, the Colombian Aerospace Force has carried out 166 water drops on the flames, which represents more than 66,000 gallons of water and retardant liquid in a direct rain on the flames; more than 50 flight crew and specialized personnel of the National Personnel Recovery Center (CENRP), have intervened in the missions, framed within the Ayacucho Air Campaign Plan for the protection of the environment.
All this firmness is coordinated by the National Risk and Disaster Management Unit (UNGRD), together with Colombian National Army, the Fire Brigade, the National Police, relief agencies and the important support of the communities.
The Colombian Aerospace Force continues to protect the inhabitants and the environment, for which, it has already flown 32 hours in this type of missions, using 1,210 gallons of aviation fuel, which represents a cost of the military operation that amounts to more than 500 million pesos.
On the other hand, once the economic resources available, the contracting process will immediately begin for the maintenance of the Modular Air Fire Fighting System II (MAFFS II), which is used aboard the Hercules C-130 aircraft, to put this system into operation and thus support future forest emergencies where its intervention is necessary, taking into account that factors such as height, topography, temperature and winds, which are determinants for this assistance.
It is important to clarify that the MAFFS II equipment cannot be installed on all C-130s, since it requires a special adaptation that only three of the FAC's Hercules aircraft have, which in the same way transport troops and cargo, with the ability to land on unprepared runways in the most remote regions of the country, where members of the Military Forces of the Military Forces in security functions and citizens with the greatest needs.
In this way, the Colombian Aerospace Force is prepared to continue working in coordination on the operations required to mitigate the impact of the El Ni帽o phenomenon throughout the national territory, not only providing support in firefighting, but in the same way in the transportation of personnel for intervention in the different events associated with this phenomenon.
Source: Press Office of the Colombian Aerospace Force
