Reproduced with permission from the Aerial Application Association of Australia AAAA Quarterly Issue 3 2025 www.aaaa.org.au.
Recognised as one of Australia’s pioneers in firefighting helicopters, AAAA member McDermott Aviation Pty Ltd is now the world’s largest operator of the Bell 214B and 214ST aircraft. Founded by John McDermott in 1982, McDermott started as an aerial application specialist company before evolving into the multi-faceted aviation powerhouse it is today.
John told the AAAA’s Quarterly that in October 2022, he had the opportunity to enter the fixed-wing large air tanker (LAT) arena, when he was offered three Transall C-160s. The aircraft John said, had "one careful owner – the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) – were in absolutely immaculate condition, and only had about 13,000 hours." The type is well proven, having flown thousands of hours for the French, German, Turkish and South African military.
McDermott purchased the aircraft, but one of the problems was only having until December that year to move them off the airport base. However, that was achieved with receiving a special flight permit allowing them to be flown to Australia.
John believes that the C-160, used by the Luftwaffe’s now-disbanded 63rd Air Transport Wing for its strategic and tactical transport capability, could have "almost been designed and built for aerial firefighting. It is perfect for flying low and slow, can carry a 16,000-kg payload, and was designed specifically to operate on short semi-prepared airfields."
John has worked with Queensland company Helitak Aerial Firefighting Equipment to fit the aircraft they would like to use as a tanker, VH-TIT, with a custom-made firefighting tank, designed and manufactured in Queensland.
"The tank is really easy to roll on and off," John said, "and takes only about 45 minutes to remove."
Helitak said in an interview with Australian Aviation in June 2025 that "the FT-series tank developed for the C-160s is the first of its kind for fixed-wing aircraft, providing 'rapid-fill, high-volume water and retardant delivery, tailored for Australian firefighting conditions."
Testing, dropping water out of the aircraft [was scheduled to] take place in late September, and John said, "the conversion has had no airframe or flight characteristic impact – our highly experienced international test pilot is very happy with its performance."
Certification, as a European derivative, was never going to be easy, but John concluded, "We are working towards the certification process: the aircraft is ready for use, pending certification."
The development of an Australian owned, managed and crewed fleet has been the subject of many reports since the early 1990s, when, following the 1993 Sydney bushfires, the proponents of the CL415 "Superscooper" brought an aircraft to Australia for a series of demonstration flights.
Most recently the Bushfire Royal Commission into the 2019-20 fires identified the issues around Australia not having a domestic LAT fleet, while highlighting the challenges of Australia being over-reliant on northern hemisphere aircraft.
The increasing duration of fire seasons in the Northern and Southern hemispheres, and the increasing duration and severity of fire seasons in Australia, will make it increasingly difficult to share aircraft domestically, and to acquire aviation services when we need them, particularly at short notice.
"We, therefore, believe that there is merit in the Australian, state and territory governments together ensuring the development of a sovereign aerial firefighting capability of sufficient size and versatility to better meet national needs.
"This sovereign fleet," the report went on to state, "should focus on the development of a modest Australian-based and registered national fleet of VLAT/LAT aircraft and Type-1 helicopters, jointly funded by the Australian, state and territory governments, (which) will enhance Australia’s bushfire resilience."
AAAA CEO Matt Harper outlined the AAAA position on an Australian sovereign fleet.
"This is an excellent example of where the private sector, and in particular companies like McDermotts, have moved to fill the gap to develop a LAT sovereign fleet. AAAA members have already established one of the world’s premier sovereign capabilities in firefighting – fixed and rotary-wing aircraft operated and managed by Australian companies with locally based pilots having a great understanding of the Australian situation, our terrain, our weather and our fire management.
"We look forward to McDermotts bringing the C-160 online and making it available to Australian fire agencies."