Disasters & Incidents
France to deploy A400M military aircraft against southwest wildfires
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has ordered the armed forces to deploy an A400M military transport aircraft as early as Saturday to help fight wildfires in southwest France, his office said.
Hundreds of firefighters have been working for several days against fires in the Gironde department, where the blazes are particularly intense, and near Biscarrosse in the neighbouring Landes department.
The interior and defence ministries have signed a joint agreement with Airbus to make available and equip an A400M aircraft with an aerial firefighting kit on an experimental basis. The aircraft is to carry a dispensing kit able to release 20 tonnes of fire retardant, the same capacity as two Dash firefighting aircraft.
The deployment had previously been scheduled for the end of the month because of preparation and testing. The interior ministry said this week that the A400M would be used ahead of advancing fires to help protect the most vulnerable areas. It said operational use of the aircraft in this configuration requires technical preparation, flight testing and qualification of military crews, a process that began on July 20.
The fires in Gironde and Landes have forced more than 140,000 people to evacuate and have burned 22,000 hectares, or 54,000 acres, of land.
Update
Hundreds of firefighters have been battling fires in Gironde and near Biscarrosse in Landes.
The interior and defence ministries signed a joint agreement with Airbus to make and equip an A400M aircraft with an aerial firefighting kit on an experimental basis.
The A400M kit can release 20 tonnes of fire retardant, equivalent to two Dash firefighting aircraft.
The interior ministry said technical preparation, flight tests and crew qualification began on July 20.
The fires in Gironde and Landes have forced more than 140,000 people to evacuate and have burned 22,000 hectares.
Source note: AFP news report published on 25 July 2026 at 08:49:15 UTC.
Update
The fires are in southwest France.
The A400M could be deployed as early as Saturday.
The aircraft is to be fitted with a dispensing kit able to release 20 tonnes of fire retardant.
The stated capacity is equivalent to two Dash firefighting aircraft.
The deployment had previously been planned for the end of the month because of preparation and testing.
Source note: AFP news report published on 25 July 2026 at 08:30:49 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The source does not say whether the A400M had already begun firefighting operations at the time of publication.
Source
AFP news report published on .