Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      C-130 Hercules Modular Airborne Firefighting System aircraft No. 5, or MAFFS 5, sits on the flightline at Channel Islands Air National Guard Station, Calif., after deploying 3,000 gallons of fire retardant over the Poomacha fire Oct. 24 in North San Diego County, Calif. The C-130 and crew are assigned to the 302nd Airlift Wing from Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. Air Force Reserve Command officials sent two of its designated firefighting C-130H3 aircraft to help battle the raging wildfires in Southern California. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Roy. A. Santana)C-130s fight California wildfires
                        
                        
                        Air Force file photo. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Roy. A. Santana)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        FILE PHOTO -- Air National Guard C-130 Hercules equipped with modular airborne firefighting systems, similar to this one, are dropping thousands of gallons of retardant on the wildfires in Southern California.  The fires have destroyed more than 830 homes and burned out more than 500,000 acres.  California officials said the fires are responsible for at least 15 deaths.  (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Daryl McKamey)Fighting wildfires
                        
                        
                        Air Force file photo. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Daryl McKamey)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Aircraft deploy to California to aid firefighting effortPublished Aug. 28, 2013
            **BOISE, Idaho (AFNS) --**The U.S. Forest Service, through the National Interagency Fire Center here, has ordered the three MAFFS aircraft operating at the Boise Air Tanker Base moved to McClellan Air Tanker base near Sacramento, Calif., to assist the wildland firefighting effort in the western United States. 
In a request made Aug. 26, the Forest Service also extended the military Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System mission through Sept. 30. 
Five MAFFS aircraft are activated. Two are from the California Air National Guard’s 146th Airlift Wing, and are operating from their home base at the Channel Islands Air National Guard Station in Port Hueneme, Calif. Three others -- two from Air Force Reserve Command’s 302nd Airlift Wing at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., and one from the North Carolina Air National Guard’s 145th Airlift Wing, based in Charlotte, N.C., have been part of the MAFFS squadron operating from Boise. 
Aircraft operations at Boise ended yesterday, but the command element for MAFFS will remain at Gowen Field here to coordinate with the National Interagency Fire Center. The Boise aircraft were expected at McClellan by late afternoon yesterday. 
Since their initial activation June 11 to fight forest fires in southern Colorado, MAFFS aircraft have made 479 drops using 1,211,631 gallons of fire retardant. This summer, they have fought fires in Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, California and Nevada. 
MAFFS is a self-contained aerial firefighting system owned by the Forest Service. C-130 Hercules aircraft with MAFFS modules loaded into their cargo bays follow Forest Service lead planes, and military aircrews can discharge 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant along the leading edge of a forest fire in less than five seconds, covering an area a quarter of a mile long by 100 feet wide. Once the load is discharged, ground crews at a MAFFS tanker base can refill the modules in less than 12 minutes. 
An interagency Defense Department and Forest Service program, MAFFS provides aerial firefighting resources when commercial and private air tankers are no longer able to meet the Forest Service’s needs. A military air expeditionary group exercises control over MAFFS resources at the Forest Service’s direction.
*(From a 153rd Air Expeditionary Group News Release)*natural disaster 



wildfires 



Air National Guard 



California Air National Guard 



MAFFS

Related Links
        Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System
                                Nov. 8, 2007
                                The Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System, or MAFFS, Program provides emergency capability to supplement existing commercial tanker support on wildland fires.  MAFFS aids the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service. Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                SecAF Kendall visits Bangor ANG Base
                    
                    Vice President Harris congratulates USAFA Class of ‘24
                    
                    Senate confirms Melissa Dalton as next Under Secretary of the Air Force
                    
                    ‘One Team, One Fight’: SecAF visits Keesler AFB
                    
                    SecAF Kendall experiences VISTA of future flight test at Edwards AFBInnovation
                AFSFC reaches final phase of fielding Model Defender gear
                    
                    Around the Air Force: PCS Allowances, Air Task Forces, All-Volunteer Force
                    
                    AFIMSC focuses I-WEPTAC topics on GPC solutions
                    
                    Optimizing AI, Air University hosts Artificial Intelligence Symposium
                    
                    AFIMSC tools deliver data-driven solutions across DAFMAJCOM News
                AFMC to expand AcqDemo workforce
                    
                    AFMC empowers small businesses for Air Force reoptimization
                    
                    Acquisition Instructor Course Class 25A open for nominations
                    
                    Air Guard leaders host 2024 Wing Leader Conference
                    
                    Referral bonuses aim to help fill mission-critical vacancies
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil