Abbotsford, Aug. 8 -- Canada has conditionally sold 10 retired CC-130H Hercules military aircraft to British Columbia-based Coulson Aviation, which plans to convert them for aerial firefighting as the country faces increasingly severe wildfire seasons.

The sale was announced by Stephen Fuhr, secretary of state for Defence Procurement, on behalf of Public Works and Procurement Minister Joel Lightbound, during an event in Abbotsford, British Columbia.

The deal is intended to strengthen Canada's civilian wildfire-response capacity while allowing retired military assets to continue serving a public safety role.

The 10 aircraft are part of a fleet of 12 CC-130H Hercules planes retired by the Royal Canadian Air Force in January 2026. The rem...