Two retired Luftwaffe Transall C-160D transport aircraft are being prepared for a return to flight as firefighting aircraft by Lower Saxony-based Total Aeronautical Services (TAS). The first aircraft has been assigned the civil registration D-AMJT, which would make it the first C-160 to fly on the German civil register, with initial operations targeted for the summer 2027 wildfire season.
The aircraft are set to be fitted with an internal Helitak tank carrying about 14 tonnes of water or retardant, using an off-centreline belly discharge system rather than a rear-ramp drop. TAS expects the tank to be refilled in about three minutes and to discharge up to 3,000 litres per second. The airframes retain legacy Kevlar armour from military service, which TAS says could support operations over terrain contaminated by unexploded ordnance.
Germany’s Federal Aviation Office and the Bundeswehr procurement agency BAAINBw are backing the project, giving the conversion regulatory and institutional support. The programme builds on previous Australian experience converting ex-Luftwaffe Transalls into water bombers, while addressing Germany’s limited aerial firefighting capacity with a domestically based heavy tanker option.