IRGC Adapts Russian Aircraft to Serve in Aerial Firefighting
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) experts have designed, manufactured and installed a homegrown fire extinguishing system on a Russian-made Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft, a commander said, adding that the modified plane was employed in a real operation successfully.
General Shamseddin Farzadipour, a commander at the IRGC Aerospace Force, said on Monday the domestically-made system installed on the aircraft was for the first time used to combat a wildfire in Iran's western province of Ilam.
The Iranian firefighting system can discharge 40 tons of water onto the target point within 10 to 20 seconds, added the commander.
Equipped with the new system, the Ilyushin Il-76 plane was used to control a wildfire in early June that laid waste to around 40 hectares of forests in the province of Ilam.
The Ilyushin Il-76 is a multi-purpose four-engine airlifter made by Russia. It was first planned as a commercial freighter in 1967. The plane has also been used in emergency response transport for civilian evacuations and humanitarian relief aid. Special models have also been produced for aerial fire-fighting.