6 April 2020:MSB, the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency has signed a contract with SAAB for two fire fighting aircraft for the next three years.
The order is for the capability to fight fires with two fire fighting aircraft, from 1 April to 30 September, through to 2023. This resource will be available for Sweden and for EU.
Saab has established the aerial fire fighting capabilities using the Air Tractor AT-802 F fire fighting aircraft. It is a water-bombing aircraft and in the event of a forest fire can release 35,000-50,000 litres of water per hour. It will be based in Nykoping, where Saab already has aviation operations for, among other things, aerial target towing and support for the Swedish Coast Guard's aircraft. Also it can reach Copenhagen or eastern Finland in a couple of hours and Lule in the north of Sweden in three hours.
"We are part of Sweden's national security and our specialist expertise and flight permits made it natural for us to complement our operations in Nykoping with aerial fire fighting capabilities," says Ellen Molin, Head of Saab's Support and Services business area. "It is important to have a prompt national response to forest fires, and this service is going to help deliver that."