Aviation News – Lower Saxony-based Total Aeronautical Services GmbH is restoring two former Luftwaffe Transall C-160D military transport aircraft into specialized firefighting planes to address Germany's critical shortage of aerial disaster relief assets. This historic conversion marks a major breakthrough for European wildfire response as severe summer blazes continue to threaten ecosystems across the continent. ​As climate shifts trigger increasingly severe wildfires throughout Europe, Germany has long suffered from a distinct lack of heavy-capacity water bombers.