I second the C130 as a fire bomber..... why not make it a part of the ADF.... They already assist with disaster relief, and have trained pilots on a salary - so it would not cost the taxpayer that much extra - as oppposed to paying private companies stupid amounts of taxpayer money to be on standby....
They are selling a whole bunch of C130's, why not convert 2 to fire bombers?... one for East coast, one for West coast... it is literally just a module you fit inside the cargo bay called MAFFS. Not rocket science.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modula...ighting_System
If you want an idea of how much we as taxpayers pay to have private fire fighting aircraft on call. (and I am not sure if this is year round - the figure could just be during fire season?) -
Firefighting choppers cost millions on stand-by - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Victoria alone, $18 million a year to have fire fighter aircraft on STANDBY (and then heaps extra once they are called out).... much better to have a RAAFie on a salary, on fire fighting duties, who can also get some more stick time... and then when it is not fire season.. it can just be a regular old C130 lumping stuff around... in an hour or so.
But it's not just about money at the end of the day... there is something far more important which this system could save.