Joe Campion joined the Força Aérea Portuguesa's (Portuguese Air Force, PoAF's) Esquadra 552 (Esq 552) ‘Zangões’ for a mountain flying exercise. The unit has proven the relevance of training exercises– battling major wildfires.
As Portugal’s biggest wildfire in years burned through the Serra da Estrela mountain range, Esq 552 of the PoAF was performing fire co-ordination missions daily. This location is where the squadron flew a mountain training exercise earlier in the year.
Esq 552 is based at Air Base No 11 in Beja with a tasking to provide freshly qualified helicopter pilots to Portugal’s frontline. But Esq 552 also takes on operational responsibilities. The unit completes these missions with a fleet of five Leonardo-built AgustaWestland AW119 Koalas.
The major wildfire broke out on August 6 in the Serra da Estrela Mountain range in central Portugal. Since it started, the fire was releasing an accumulated amount of energy equal to 25 Hiroshima atomic bombs.
To battle this fire, civilian aircraft such as helicopters, AT-802F FireBosses and Babcock-owned Canadair CL 215s were dropping water to suppress the flames. Many aircraft types were operating in a smoke-filled, low-visibility, multi-terrain location.
Co-ordination was ne…
