The squadron of heavy A400M transporters, thundering over Paris on Tuesday celebrating Bastille Day, will soon be on the front line fighting wildfires.
With infernos raging across France, the military-grade response is becoming necessary in a warming climate that is creating new challenges.
The country has already lost 32,000 hectares of forest to wildfires this year, outstripping the total destroyed throughout 2025. More worryingly for the authorities, the fires are now spreading farther north, with one burning its way through Fontainebleau Forest, south-east of Paris.
While firefighting planes have been sent from the usual incendiary hotspots on the French Mediterranean coast, the government is now pressing for military aircraft to help.
With the ability to carry 20,000 litres, the A400M can bring down a heavy cascade of water on to flames. With 50 in their fleet, the French are set on turning a number of those into fire tenders.
“We will probably implement this season a new way to fight forest fires, an innovative way – the use of the A400M device that equips our armies,” said Julien Marion, director general of Civil Security, following a ministerial crisis meeting.
The Airbus “will be tested in real conditions against forest fires within 15 days”, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said.
He added that the “military reinforcement” can drop three times as much water as the typical workhorses of firefighting, the Canadair CL-415.
Experts have told The National that converting the planes simply requires fitting a water tanker into their spacious interior after stripping out seating and other kit.
But a significant disadvantage is that the A400M will have to return to the nearest airbase to refill after its water run, which can take up to 40 minutes.
That is considerably slower than amphibious aircraft such as the Canadair CL-415, which can skim across a lake or sea scooping up 6,000 litres in slightly more than 10 seconds. Its size also makes it much more manoeuvrable and able to fly up steep, narrow valleys.
France has 12 Canadairs, with a number from the Mediterranean coast used for the first time in Fontainebleau. Another four have been ordered, alongside a European Union package for 22, but delivery will not arrive until 2028.
It is understood a test in France last year on the A400M showed high accuracy and an even distribution of water.
France lacks heavy-lift helicopters, such as the Chinook or Sea Stallion, that can be used to scoop water from the sea in a huge bucket and regularly dumped on the fire. Britain's Royal Air Force in Cyprus use Chinooks in this fashion to help tackle the wildfires on the island.
France's rapid response to what could become an increasing difficult issue is being watched closely by A400M operators in Germany, Britain and, in particular, Spain, where 12 people died in a wildfire last week. With the continent now sweltering under its third heatwave of the summer, its forests have become tinder-dry further north, forcing governments to reconsider how to adapt to rapid climate change.
