ST Engineering announced the signing of a contract with Galactic Holdings to design and manufacture an aerial firefighting platform based on the 757. The aircraft will be the first of its kind in the world.
The conversion company, which has a long history in structural modification programs thanks to its experience with passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversions, will call this program passenger-to-tanker (P2T).
ST Engineering will be in charge of the entire program: from design, through work on the aircraft, to certification. The prototype conversion will be carried out at one of the company’s US facilities. Once the fleet is built, the company will also provide fleet maintenance.
Darrin Henry, CEO of Galactic Holdings, said that ST Engineering was chosen because of «confidence in their ability to deliver an innovative and environmentally friendly solution. The first Boeing 757 P2T should be ready in 2024. The construction of the fleet should not take long after the supplemental type certificate is obtained.
Jeffrey Lam, president of commercial aerospace at ST Engineering, added, «We are thrilled to be able to contribute to the reuse of airliners for something as vital as firefighting. In addition, we are giving new life to aircraft. Otherwise, it would have been retired and scrapped.
The B757P2T will have a capacity of up to 7,000 gallons of retardant, making it one of the largest load-carrying platforms once in service. It will be equipped with a state-of-the-art dispensing system that will ensure high accuracy in the delivery of fire retardants.
See also: SmartLynx orders a further six A321 P2Fs from ST Engineering
