C-130 MAFFS II: 2nd generation MAFFS

Aero Union, under contract with the USDA Forest Service has developed a new, 2nd general MAFFS unit. Called the Airborne Fire Fighting System (AFFS) by the contractor, these eight new units will be referred to as MAFFS-2 after the units have been delivered and are operational, military and Forest Services documents will refer to them as MAFFS2. Two of the new MAFFS2 units were tested in California in 2007, see this Aero Union press release.

Unlike the 1st generation MAFFS units that could only be used on C-130’s E and H models equipped with the US Air Force 463L cargo handling system, MAFFS-2 units can be used on C-130 models E, H, and J without special modification, i.e. no cargo handling systems required. This means that the military has more flexibility in assigning C-130’s for MAFFS duty.

Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today reported on January 28, 2009 that the Forest Service has accepted delivery of two new MAFFS units for operation by the Air National Guard (ANG) of Port Hueneme, CA. The ANG has begun training with these units.

The discharge tube of the MAFFS-2 fits through a port in the side “paratrooper” door of the C-130 allowing all doors to be closed and the cabin pressurized. This also makes for a cleaner aircraft inside and out. And the loadmaster does not have a uniform covered with the red goo.

There are three more important upgrades in the MAFFS-2 unit: (1) one retardant tank instead of five, (2) on board air compressor to recharge the pressurized tank, and (3) the tank holds 3,400 gallons of retardant. Like the 1st generation MAFFS, the MAFFS-2 is loaded onto the C-130 through the rear cargo door, and the module includes the loadmaster’s station.

For a short video of a C-130 MAFFS-2, go here. Windows media player is required to view this video, or if you have a Mac you will need a plug-in or media player that will allow you to play windows media files.

There is a nice, easy to follow presentation on the MAFFS-2 unit see this pdf file. I have tried to provide the salient details of the MAFFS-2 unit here, you may want to take a look at this file to learn more about the MAFFS-2.

For those of you who may prefer not to download the pdf file, the Forest Service has a MAFFS-2 webpage that includes several captioned pictures from the pdf file as well as a link to a short video of a MAFFS-2 equipped C-130 making a practice drop (this is the video I referred you to earlier), and a power point version of the pdf file.