Canada sells ten retired Hercules aircraft to Coulson Aviation for firefighting

The Canadian government announced the conditional sale of ten CC‑130H Hercules transport aircraft, retired by the Royal Canadian Air Force in January 2026, to Coulson Aviation Canada Ltd., based in Port Alberni, British Columbia. The aircraft will be converted, maintained and operated as aerial fire‑tanker platforms once Transport Canada certifies them for civil use. The deal, coordinated through the GCMil unit of Public Services and Procurement, is intended to bolster Canada’s wildfire‑response capacity, create aerospace jobs and strengthen the domestic aerospace sector. The sale doubles Coulson’s global C‑130H fleet to 20 aircraft, supporting the need for large‑scale water and retardant drops amid increasingly severe wildfire seasons. The two remaining Hercules airframes will be displayed in museums. Officials Stephen Fuhr, Secretary of State for Defence Procurement, and Joël Lightbound, Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement, highlighted the dual benefit of extending the life of military assets while enhancing emergency‑response capabilities.