Port Alberni, BC – Coulson Aviation (USA) Inc. has bought five C-130H transport planes from the Norwegian Defense Materiel Agency (NDMA), which will be modified into firefighting aircrafts. The formal takeover is planned for the end of this year/early 2020.
In March 2018, the NDMA sales process was initiated through a Request for Proposal (RFP). Six companies responded to the RFP; however, only Coulson Aviation was able to provide the required documentation, including the current government contracts, which was part of the sales regulations. The sales to Coulson Aviation have been approved by U.S. Authorities, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Norwegian Ministry of Defense.
“The entire NDMA team has been a pleasure to work with and we look forward to giving Balder, Brage, Frøy, Odin and Ty a new life”, said Britt Coulson, President of Coulson Aviation. “These C-130H’s have been maintained to the highest standard and with our modifications, along with a new glass cockpit, they will continue to serve the public for years to come.”
The five C-130Hs have been stored at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) in Tucson, Arizona.
“These airplanes have been very important for the Norwegian Defense, and I am pleased that they will now also be useful for civilian purposes, said Frank Bakke-Jensen, Minister of Defense in Norway. Mette Sørfonden, Director General for NDMA, added “This is the most significant material sales project finalized after the establishment of NDMA, and it has been an important achievement […].”
With this purchase, Coulson Aviation is further expanding its aerial firefighting fleet to serve even more fights against the growing threat of wildfires around the world.
About Coulson Aviation (USA) Inc.
Coulson Aviation is a family-owned and operated business that became the global leader in aerial firefighting with the mission to protect our world from forest fires.
As the only aerial firefighting company operating both fixed-wing aircrafts and Type 1 helicopters, Coulson Aviation is the best-equipped company and operates the largest aerial firefighting fleet in the world. Always driving for innovation to better serve the industry needs, Coulson Aviation has the only STC aerial firefighting tank for a C-130 and the only tank for a Boeing 737 through the most complex modification ever done to a 737, which allows carrying both the payload and the crew.
Moreover, Coulson Aviation became the first in Australia to successfully conduct night fire suppression operations. For more information, visit www.coulsonaviationusa.com
About NDMA
The Norwegian Defense Materiel Agency is an agency directly subordinate to the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Defense with the main task of continuously develop and modernize the Norwegian Armed Forces. The agency consists of the following five divisions: Air Systems, Naval Systems, Land Systems, Communication Information Systems, and General Materiel.
