Air Tractor AT-802, the newest aircraft in the Israeli Air Force
In December 2010, Israel suffered a dramatically experience with wildfires in his territory when 44 people was killed and 5.000 hectares was burned in The Carmel forest fire. 30 firefighting aircraft from 11 different countries like Greece, Russia, Spain, Cyprus, etc. were sent to help his friend country.
Once the wildfire was put under control, the Government of Israel took the decision to create the first fire-fighting aerial squadron in Israel. After a deep evaluation of all aircraft in the market, the result was seven AT-802 aircraft, an excellent choice in terms of purchase price, direct operating costs, performances, efficiency, new aircraft delivery time, spare parts supply and number of liters in the air at the same time: 21.700 liters.
This new squadron was named “Elad Riven” in a memory of teenage Fire Scout volunteer who was killed in the Carmel Fire. The fire-fighting squadron completed its first training exercise on 26 April 2011 following what it was officially established as Israel Air Force unit on 4 May 2011.
On 17 July 2011 a large wildfire erupted in the Jerusalem Forest moving within three hours only several hundred meters of Israel’s Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem and provoking evacuation of that 45-acre campus. Institutional reaction was prompt and very professional – around 200 firefighters organized in 37 teams and supported by four AT-802 planes of “Elad” fire-fighting squadron opposed the disaster and managed to put it under control within hours.
The significant contribution of fire-fighting squadron and it’s AT-802 planes in extinguishing Jerusalem Forest wildfire was also priced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who thanked “Elad” squadron for its success in battling the blaze and demonstrating high-level of competency and readiness for performing Routine Security Measures operations.
The lessons learnt from Carmel wildfire were smartly implemented and the new AT-802 fleet is ready to fight against fires protecting the Israeli territory and their people.
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