The 737 is funded by the Commonwealth Government in partnership with the National Aerial Firefighting Center (NAFC) in Australia. The contract is with an option to extend for two years.
A converted Boeing 737, the Tanker 139 is the newest addition to Coulson Aviation’s FireLiner fleet. A national LAT (Large Air Tanker), Tanker 139 will be named “Phoenix” after a naming competition held by local Australian schools last year.
“Phoenix” is equipped with Coulson Aviation’s Retardant Aerial Delivery System (RADS), the company’s patented refueling and jettisoning system. With RADS, the aircraft is capable of discharging up to 15140 liters of extinguishing agent or water at a flow rate of up to 11350 liters per second.
Coulson Aviation is the only company in the world to convert a Boeing 737 into a FireLiner multirole aircraft. The company has been operating in Australia for almost 20 years and provides flight support in several Australian states.
“Coulson is proud to make our state-of-the-art aircraft available to the Australian Federal Government. This aircraft is an incredibly capable water bomber…” said Britt Coulson, CEO of Coulson Aviation Australia.
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