First-ever real deployment: Airbus A400M uses firefighting kit to fight French wildfires

France has used an Airbus A400M Atlas in live wildfire response for the first time near Bordeaux.

The aircraft carried a roll-on firefighting kit and dropped up to 22 tons of water or retardant.

The test marks years of work by Airbus and French agencies to turn the transport plane into a rapid-deployment water bomber.

It adds a flexible, high-capacity option that can operate from standard airfields and help during extreme fire seasons.