Galicia becomes the first European region to have a heavy-lift Black Hawk UH-60L helicopter dedicated to fighting forest fires. This aircraft, capable of dropping more than 4,300 liters of water, will operate through the company Airworks Helicopters. The regional minister for Rural Affairs, María José Gómez, highlighted the importance of this addition at the air base in Silleda, where she was accompanied by the Director General of Forest Defense, Manuel Francisco, and pilots Nicolás Tamame and Abisai Carrascal.
María José Gómez emphasized that Galicia "is once again a pioneer in firefighting," as this helicopter is the first of its kind in Europe to be operated by civilian personnel. She noted that its operational deployment represents a significant advancement in the specialization and operational capacity of aerial firefighting resources in the region. Pilot Nicolás Tamame explained that it is "the fastest helicopter currently operating in firefighting in all of Spain and Europe, and it is prepared to drop large quantities of water."
With this new aerial asset, the minister indicated that water-dropping capacity is enhanced and the operational fleet is diversified to meet the varying needs of each fire. This also improves support for ground personnel and the protection of people and forests.
The minister also recalled that Galicia has 24 own aerial resources for combating forest fires, four of which were incorporated this year: two ground-attack aircraft, one coordination aircraft, and this heavy-lift helicopter, which will operate from the new base in Lalín next year. These advancements demonstrate the Galician Government's commitment, which will continue in the 2027 budgets.
The budgets for 2027 include an investment of 6 million euros to expand and improve the network of air bases, with work planned at the new aerodrome in Setecoros (Valga) and existing bases in Beariz (Ourense) and Doade (Lugo). Additionally, another 3 million euros will be allocated to further expand the number of operational unit bases (BUO), including the construction of a new one in Bande (Ourense) and improvements to the base in Areas (Tui).
