THERMAL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 4, 2026--
Coulson Aviation today announced that Tanker 138, a Lockheed C-130H registered as N382CG, began a 60-day Exclusive Use contract last week with the U.S. Wildland Fire Service. The contract makes Tanker 138 the first Large Airtanker placed under contract by the newly established federal service.
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At 4,000 U.S. gallons, Tanker 138 carries the largest retardant load available in the Large Airtanker class. The C-130H combines that capacity with four-engine turboprop performance, low-speed handling and strong climb capability, giving flight crews the flexibility to operate effectively in demanding terrain and changing wildfire conditions.
Tanker 138 is equipped with Coulson’s proprietary RADS-XXL retardant delivery system. RADS-XXL provides flight crews with cockpit control of flow rate and coverage level, allowing the aircraft to deliver a consistent retardant line across different terrain, airspeeds and drop profiles.
The system’s high-flow capability is particularly important during initial attack, when the objective is to place an effective retardant line quickly and contain an emerging fire before it has an opportunity to grow. Combined with the C-130’s tactical operating profile, RADS-XXL allows Coulson crews to make concentrated drops at the head of a fire, when operational conditions permit, and provide the heavier coverage levels needed to improve retardant penetration through thick canopy and dense forest fuels.
RADS-XXL is the latest generation of Coulson’s RADS technology, which has helped set the industry standard for modern aerial retardant delivery.
“Being selected to provide the first Large Airtanker for the U.S. Wildland Fire Service is a significant milestone for Coulson,” said Britton Coulson, President and COO of Coulson Aviation. “Tank size matters, but only if the aircraft and tank can put that load where it is needed. The C-130 gives our crews the performance to work tactically in difficult terrain, while the high-flow capability of RADS-XXL allows them to put a strong retardant line when and where it's required. That combination makes the C-130’s particularly well suited for initial attack and for supporting firefighters on the ground.”
Under the contract, Tanker 138 is supported by dedicated Coulson flight, maintenance, and ground crews. The aircraft provides the USWFS with a high-capacity initial and extended attack resource as the service develops its federal aviation capability.
The U.S. Wildland Fire Service was launched in January 2026 under the U.S. Department of the Interior, bringing Interior’s wildland fire programs together under a single service to strengthen coordination, decision-making and operational capability.
About Coulson Aviation
Coulson Aviation is the world’s largest private aerial firefighting company, with more than 60 years of operational heritage and four decades of aerial firefighting experience.
Operating across North America, South America and Australia, Coulson supports national, state, provincial, regional and local government agencies worldwide. The company operates an advanced mixed fleet of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft supported by proprietary retardant delivery systems, intelligence platforms, engineering, maintenance, training and mission support.
Coulson designs, manufactures, certifies, operates and supports its own aerial firefighting technology, allowing the company to continually improve the safety, accuracy and effectiveness of its aircraft and delivery systems.
The Coulson Aviation C-130H is the first Large Airtanker placed under contract by the newly established U.S. Wildland Fire Service. Tanker 138 is equipped with the Coulson proprietary RADS-XXL retardant delivery system, carrying 4,000 U.S. gallons.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri's top election official has rejected a citizens' petition seeking a statewide referendum on new congressional districts backed by President Donald Trump.
Supporters of the referendum had submitted hundreds of thousands of petition signatures in a bid to force a November election on a new U.S. House map approved by the Republican-led state Legislature. But Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins asserted Tuesday that the petition is unconstitutional because congressional redistricting plans cannot be subject to voter referendums.
A group backing the referendum effort has said it will challenge Hoskins' decision in court.
Missouri was the second Republican-led state, after Texas, to respond to Trump's call last year to redraw congressional districts to the GOP's advantage in hopes of holding on to the party's slim House majority in the midterm elections.
The new map, which is being used in Tuesday's primaries, dramatically reshapes the Kansas City-based 5th Congressional District, held by longtime Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, by stretching it into rural central Missouri to give it a Republican tilt. Republicans already hold six of Missouri's eight congressional seats and hope to gain another under the new map.
People Not Politicians, the group sponsoring the referendum drive, submitted more than 300,000 signatures to the secretary of state's office in December. Local election officials reviewed the signatures' validity over the ensuing months and approved well more than the roughly 111,000 needed to qualify for the ballot.
But Hoskins waited until the last day allowed under state law to announce his decision about the referendum — a move that let the new districts be used in the meantime.
Hoskins had long signaled that he was likely to reject the referendum. He asked a federal court last fall to block the referendum petition from being submitted, arguing that congressional redistricting is not subject to a referendum under the U.S. and Missouri constitutions. A judge dismissed the lawsuit as premature, noting in a December ruling that Hoskins had the authority to reject the petition himself if he thought it was unconstitutional.
When Missouri candidates began filing for office in February, Hoskins said they were doing so under the new districts and told The Associated Press that “the referendum process was never meant to be used for redistricting.”
If Hoskins is wrong, and a court orders him to place the redistricting referendum on the ballot, it's unclear what that means for the 2026 elections. Would candidates who win Tuesday's primaries be allowed to continue running under the new districts in November while voters simultaneously decide whether those districts can be used in future elections? Would candidates run in different districts for the general election than were used in the primaries? Or would courts order a do-over for the congressional primaries using the state’s prior congressional districts?
Missouri's mid-decade redistricting effort already has been among the most litigated nationally, triggering about a dozen lawsuits over the past year.
Legislative voting districts typically are redrawn at the start of each decade, immediately after a census. But Trump's call for Republicans to redraw districts to their advantage led to an unusual outbreak of mid-decade mapmaking. The redistricting effort gained additional steam when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a majority Black congressional district in Louisiana in late April, prompting Republicans in several Southern states to also redraw districts that had large minority populations.
All told, Republicans think they could win as many as 16 additional seats from new House maps enacted in eight states — Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana and Alabama. Democrats, whose counterattack faced several setbacks, think they could win up to six additional seats from new districts in California and Utah.
Voters ultimately will determine whether the new districts perform as intended. Even with redistricting, Republicans are facing headwinds. The president's party historically has lost congressional seats in the midterms, and Trump’s poor approval ratings could provide an extra hurdle for Republican candidates.
Nearly 145 million people — about two of every five U.S. residents — live in states with new congressional districts for this election. Additional states are considering redistricting before the 2028 elections.
FILE - A person holds a sign opposing the new U.S. House districts passed by the Missouri General Assembly during a protest outside the state Capitol, in Jefferson City, Mo., March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb, File)
FILE - Protesters against a Missouri congressional redistricting plan gather outside the Missouri Capitol on May 12, 2026, in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb, File)
Denny Hoskins, Missouri's secretary of state, speaks to reporters at a campaign event on Nov. 4, 2024, inside a building at the Jefferson City Memorial Airport in Missouri. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)
