France deploys A400M military transport with firefighting kit to battle Gironde wildfires

For the first time, an Airbus A400M Atlas operated by the French Air and Space Force was equipped with a roll‑on/roll‑off firefighting kit and used to drop up to 20 tonnes of water or retardant over the raging wildfires in the Gironde department near Bordeaux. The system, developed by Airbus Defence and Space together with the military and France’s Civil Security Directorate, requires no structural modifications and can release a volume equivalent to three Canadair CL‑415 aircraft in a single pass.

The inaugural drop took place on 24 July, with the aircraft laying retardant lines ahead of the fire front at Lacanau. French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez announced a second sortie, and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu praised the rapid, fifteen‑day deployment as a “world‑first”. The A400M joins an aerial fleet that already includes at least 18 planes and helicopters, while ground efforts see Union Bordeaux‑Bègles opening its stadium as a supply hub, farmers convoys transporting thousands of litres of water, and thousands of volunteers assisting evacuation and relief operations.

The combined response aims to protect over 42 000 ha of forest and limit the spread toward populated areas, illustrating France’s intensified strategy against an unusually severe wildfire season.