What makes the Bombers so good?

Aerotech are contracted to provide the aerial suppression of bushfires in South Australia. We use the impressive Air Tractor-802F (AT-802F) – designed and built with the sole purpose to fight fires. The AT-802F is appreciated among aerial fire fighting circles as a fast, maneuverable, tough and operationally very effective. We call them the 'bombers'.

Aerial suppression supports the fire fighting strategy of ‘rapid initial attack’, which focuses on controlling fires early before they are out of control. Often this means the difference between a minor incident and a full-scale emergency.

Importantly, for the aircraft to provide effective assistance, they must be available at call, rapidly dispatched with minimal travel distance (with logistical systems in place). This is the key advantage of ALL aerial suppression - rapid initial attack, until ground resources reach the fire to contain it.

Our fire bombing fleet responds to a fire within 3 minutes of a request and whilst on a campaign it only takes 2 minutes to land, re-load of 3,000 litres of water and be airborne. With access to over 100 remote airstrips throughout South Australia, we are never too far from responding to emergencies.

Designed from the wheels up to fight fires, the AT-802F uses an advanced computerised firegate to deliver optimum coverage levels with extreme accuracy. This technology reduces the number of drops needed to deliver the desired coverage levels – providing unmatched performance and pinpoint accuracy. Ideally aircraft will knock down a fire well before ground crews need to get there to complete the containment.

To find out more about the impressive AT-802F head to the Air Tractor website http://www.airtractor.com