Night time firebombing

Victoria has gained approval to conduct night time firebombing operations next summer season after successfully completing an Australian-first trial last month.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has approved Coulson Aviation and Kestrel Aviation to undertake night aerial fire suppression operations to be undertaken in Australia.

Both companies have been part of a night fire suppression trial led by Emergency Management Victoria in Ballarat this summer.

Coulson Aviation became the first in Australia to successfully conduct night fire suppression operations including hover filling from open water sources using night vision goggles.

Kestrel Aviation has also been part of the trial and gained CASA approval to operate night operations by refilling while landed on the ground.

Kestrel Aviation has recently successfully completed night-time hover fills, concluding the Victorian trial, however this component is still to be assessed by CASA.

Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley said the approvals were a key milestone and meant Victoria, on behalf of other states and territories, could continue to work through the implementation of night fire suppression in preparation for the 2018-19 fire season.

“The ability to fight fires at night is a gamechanger and this is a fantastic outcome,” he said.