Saudi Arabia Acquires Domestic Aerial Firefighting Capability

ROME—Saudi Arabia will establish a national aerial firefighting service using Thrush agricultural aircraft.

Eight dual-cockpit Thrush 710P aircraft will be operated in the country through a contract led by Advanced Aircraft Technology (AAT) and partners Dynamic Aviation and Spanish firm Planificaciones Soluciones Aereas. These turboprop-powered aircraft, known as Fire Birds, can drop more than 2,500 liters (550 gal.) of water or retardant on fires. Service entry is expected in 2028.

Plans for the contract first emerged at the World Defense Show when officials from the Saudi Interior Ministry revealed they were looking to acquire the aircraft. While Saudi Arabia is largely desert, it has some 2.7 million hectares of forest and woodland in mountainous areas of its southern and southwestern regions where there is a wildfire risk.

Currently, the Saudi Interior Ministry leases in a firefighting capability using adapted Air Tractor AT-802 agricultural aircraft, but it wants to replace these leases with its own dedicated, organic fleet. AAT and its partners will not only provide the aircraft but also offer comprehensive training, operational support, advanced simulation systems, ground support equipment and spares provisioning over five years.

The project is the first phase of a kingdom-wide capability development strategy to modernize national firefighting capabilities. But as well as firefighting, the aircraft will also be equipped for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance tasks.

The Thrush 710Ps will be in addition to the two Leonardo C-27J Spartans being acquired by Aloula Aviation, the aviation business of Saudi energy company Aramco, which was announced at last year’s Paris Air Show. Those aircraft will be configured for multi-mission duties including maritime patrol, oil spill response and aerial firefighting. They will be the first C-27Js flown by a commercial operator and will be delivered in 2027.