A dispute over the certification of a new aerial firefighting capability is continuing between aviation regulator CASA and Sunshine Coast-based operator Transall Tankers.
Nearly 12 months after announcing plans to introduce the Transall C-160 fixed-wing firefighting aircraft into Australia, Transall Tankers says ongoing certification delays were preventing the aircraft from entering service despite flight evaluations being completed.
The company said it currently had four C-160 aircraft in its fleet, including one aircraft ready for deployment and another in the final stages of modification for firefighting operations.
CASA, however, says certification of the ex-military aircraft remains subject to significant regulatory and engineering assessment processes.
“CASA does not compromise safety in response to the commercial decisions of operators,” a CASA spokesperson said.
The regulator said the C-160 aircraft had “never been approved to operate in Australia” and had “not been certified anywhere else in the world for civil operations of the kind proposed”.
CASA also said the aircraft were more than 50 years old and that “military aircraft are not designed and built to recognised civil aviation safety standards”.
The spokesperson said regulations would need to be amended before the aircraft could potentially be certified for civilian aerial firefighting work.
“In order to certify the C-160 … the regulations need to be amended,” CASA said.
“Following public consultation, we are working to advance these amendments.”
Transall Tankers founder John McDermott said the company supported rigorous aviation oversight but believed the process had become prolonged.
“We have never asked CASA to compromise safety, nor would we,” Mr McDermott said.
“Our position has always been that the aircraft should be assessed through the appropriate regulatory and engineering process.”
The company said a certification plan was first submitted in October 2023 and acknowledged the initial application was deficient.
Transall Tankers said multiple engineering organisations had since been engaged to continue revising the certification plan and working through CASA requirements.
CASA said the latest certification plan was submitted last month and noted that, based on estimates provided by the applicant, the “very earliest” certification would be the end of 2027.
Transall Tankers agreed that timeframe was currently the latest estimate, but argued the process had been underway for much longer than recent public comments suggested.
“Correct, although it should be noted that the recent submission is the latest revision of the certification plan, not the first attempt to engage in this process,” the company said in a statement.
The aircraft are being developed as large air tankers capable of operating from regional and remote airstrips closer to firegrounds.
Transall Tankers said the project included a “world-first” fixed-wing firefighting tank system developed with Queensland company Helitak Firefighting Equipment.
The company said the system was designed to enable rapid-fill delivery of water and retardant in regional areas.
CASA said if certification was ultimately achieved, it would be a “world first”.
Transall Tankers responded that first-of-type approvals were common in aviation development and said the project should not be dismissed on that basis alone.
“Every aircraft certification program at some point represents a first-of-type approval,” the company said.
CASA also noted Australia already had access to more than 500 aircraft from over 150 operators for aerial firefighting operations nationwide.
Transall Tankers said most of those aircraft were light aircraft and helicopters and argued Australia did not currently have any Australian-owned and operated large air tankers.
“At present, every large air tanker operating in Australia is owned and operated by foreign companies because there are no Australian alternatives,” the company said.
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The company also disputed suggestions the aircraft had no precedent in civil use, saying the C-160 had previously been civil certified in France for transport operations and used in Indonesia for firefighting operations.
CASA said it had not been involved in any flight evaluations conducted to date.
Transall Tankers said the evaluations had been carried out under the applicable oversight framework for the aircraft’s current limited category and said it would welcome CASA involvement in future testing.
The company said its concern was not with safety scrutiny itself, but with the length of time the certification pathway had remained unresolved.
“We are seeking a clear, timely and technically grounded process so the aircraft can either be properly assessed against the applicable standards or any specific deficiencies can be clearly identified, addressed, and resolved,” the company said.
