Been pushing this aircraft globally (concentrations on Australia and North America) for over 9 years.

Looks like Aussies are set to take the service: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/printpage/0,5481,6131112,00.html

Looks like at least one American aviation guru likes it too:
http://stage.defensedaily.com/VIP/asw/current.htm#A1

Last seen by westerners at a little-reported NATO-EMERCOM exercise pictured here: http://www.nato.int/multi/photos/2002/m020925d.htm

or Be-200:
Be-200 Scooping water. It fills-up in 14 seconds
Be-200 empties its tanks
the whole Be-200 story

Venik's "Too Proud": What really happened when Los Alamos, under wildfire threat, (including nuclear) called in the IL-76 http://www.aeronautics.ru/nws002/los-alamos-01.htm

MSNBC's "Too Proud" (reprint) article, briefly achieving #1 MSNBC most popular.
The IL-76 scored 94% approval (of 15K votes) in a multi-choice online polling
question whether the waterbomber ought to be working in the US.
http://www.vadscorner.com/tooproud.html

Unfortunately, ABC then ran this very damgaging piece, including inaccurate
statements (to say the least) from Forest Service Boffin, Ed Stone:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/ilyushin76_fires000812.html

History: How the Martin Mars became North America's largest scooper:
http://www.vectorsite.net/avmars.html

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