Karnataka’s Hubballi Airport has commissioned a new Rosenbauer Buffalo, an Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) vehicle. The vehicle has the capacity to hold 10,500L of water, 630L of foam compound and 250kgs of powder. The three-axle chassis, powered with a 550 hp engine, is capable of transporting up to five firefighters to the scene of the emergency. It can deliver up to 6,000L per minute via two turrets.
Hubballi airport gets an Instrument Landing System
The new upgrade in firefighting came after a week of setting up a new Instrument Landing System (ILS) at Hubballi airport. ILS will facilitate a smooth landing of the aircraft during harsh weather conditions and poor visibility.
ILS consists of a localizer, distance measuring unit and glide path. It is a prescribed landing aid that provides accurate descent guidance signals to aircraft for landing on the runway under normal or adverse weather conditions.
The work to set up ILS started in January 2020, and the calibration of the ILS is already completed. The authorities are now in the process of receiving clearance. Once the approval is received, the airport will publish the information about the new ILS to the pilots. The overall procedures to bring the system to live will take around one and half months.
