Originally Posted by
A Squared
That's also not a MAFFS or MAFFS 2 system. It's a completely different tank and drop system developed by Coulson. It can be installed in C-130's, and in fact has been installed in a C-130, but it requires fairly extensive airframe modifications.
The MAFFS can be installed in any Herc without extensive modification.
I am pretty confident that I am right. It takes type H or J - maybe E. I did some work when the French Air Force sat on their hands as Notre-Dame burned. They have some Canadairs (now Bombardier, I think) and Hercs but no MAFFS or MAFFS2 systems. What a mess. They reckoned on Twitter that, if used, the water would knock the walls down. The tragic truth seems to be that they bought the wrong gear for that type of fire since the MAFFS, pumping water out backwards at 140kts, causes the water to descend vertically, like very heavy rain.
The Coulson product is called RADS and, along with the Canadair doesn't have that feature. The water will have a forward velocity of some sort when it arrives at ground level. This won't matter much for forest fires but is an issue for urban ones.
In due course, there are going to be some harsh words spoken in Paris.