MOSCOW, August 17 (AVN) - The Russian Emergencies Ministry's aviation group that is fighting forest fires in Greece may soon be reinforced by IL-76TD Candid, the world's largest tanker plane, Lieutenant General Rafail Zakirov, chief of the ministry's aviation, said on Friday.
IL-76TD can drop 42 t of water or fire-extinguishing liquid on the burning territory during one flight, Zakirov told the Military News Agency.
The ministry's group in Greece currently comprises four MI-26T Halo, MI-8MTV Hip and KA-32T Helix helicopters based at the Elevsina air force base in an Athens suburb. They use VSU-15 and VSU-5 water drainage systems to fight the flames. Under the contract signed by the ministry and the Scorpion International Service company the Russian aviation group will stay in Greece for three months. Russian helicopters have spent 355 hours in the air over Greece, dropping almost 17,000t of water on the burning ground.