The German Armed Forces recently put the first of a total of 76 Rosenbauer water tender vehicles (TLF) for fighting forest fires into service at its military training area in Lehnin.
These are already ordered from the Austrian manufacturer in 2021 and and specially optimized for forest firefighting vehicles of the MT series on Tatra T-815-7 4×4 Force, which are referred to in the Bundeswehr as “FLKfz Waldbrand-Bkg BwFPS hü”. Procurement is being handled by BwFuhrparkService GmbH. The Bundeswehr fleet service company then makes the vehicles available for use by the troops as part of a leasing agreement.
According to information from the German Armed Forces Fire Brigades Association.an honorary professional and specialist association for all fire protection personnel in the German Armed Forces, the 18-tonne vehicle, which is manned by two firefighters, is powered by a 395 hp engine and also has an automatic torque converter transmission. The vehicle is equipped with two digital radios, a Lardis One (navigation device and radio control) and a Martin acoustic signaling system. The extinguishing water tank has a usable minimum volume of 4,500 liters, which must also be available when the vehicle is at maximum longitudinal or lateral inclination, which is why the extinguishing water tank holds a total of 4,850 liters. A further extinguishing water tank with a volume of 300 liters is intended for self-protection. Thanks to a pressure proportioning system and a foam compound tank with a volume of 100 liters, wetting agent operations are also possible. https://militaeraktuell.at/bundesheer-5m-id-von-leonardo-ist-gelandet/ According to the report by the Association of German Armed Forces Fire Departments, the powerful FPN 10-3000 centrifugal fire pump can discharge the extinguishing agent via the front turret with forest fire nozzle, a rapid intervention device with C hollow jet pipe on the cab roof or via lateral C and B pressure outlets. Further equipment details include a mechanical towing device with a length of up to 50 meters, LED perimeter lighting, reversing camera, CO warning device, forest fire rucksack, firefighting rucksack and a cool box in the driver’s cab as well as an auxiliary heater in the driver’s cab and body.
