SOFIA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The Bulgarian Defense Ministry is planning to acquire two or three new Spartan aircraft equipped with a new generation firefighting system, officials said here on Thursday.
Bulgarian Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov told a press conference that his ministry worked together with the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Transport and Communications to develop a concept for acquiring such an aviation capability.
Dimitar Georgiev, deputy commander of Bulgarian Air Force, said the new generation C-27 Spartan aircraft envisaged the use of a fire-fighting module which could be loaded in about 90 minutes and drop up to eight tons of water from the air.
Filling this module with water could be done at any airport in the country in eight minutes, Georgiev said.
This aircraft could be used for firefighting for two to three months a year, and in the remaining months it could be used for combat training tasks and for the needs of other institutions such as the Ministry of Health, Georgiev said.
The Defense Ministry has four helicopters on standby for firefighting, which were used during the wave of wildfires that had engulfed the country in July.
The Interior Ministry said on Thursday morning that wildfires in Yambol and Sliven regions in South Bulgaria have been brought under control, but the situation around Strumyani in the southwestern part of the country remains complicated.
The severe situation at the end of last week forced Bulgaria to request four helicopters and two firefighting aircraft through the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism. ■
