AIS Perlini-Baribbi

Major foam tenders in service at Italian airports are referred to as Auto Idro Schiuma (AIS, Water Foam Vehicle). This AIS was built by Baribbi on a Perlini International 605.D chassis and it was delivered to the Italian Fire Service in the early 80s. The maker's designation was IDS 11500 "Iguana". The vehicle is 9.3 m long, 3.2 m wide and 3.5 meters high and it weights 31,500 Kg.

Power is provided by two rear-mounted GM 6V-71N General Motors engines arranged in a twin unit developing 383 kW and driving a 4 X 4 combination through an automatic transmission.
The Allison transfer that distributes the engine power to the axles has three modes of operation: it can use the power from both engine to drive the transmission or can use one motor for movement and the other to power the water pump.
The left engine has an automatic control that keeps a constant 1600 rpm output, while the other has a manual throttle.
The AIS has a max speed of 100 km/h and it can accelerate from 0 to 80 km/h in 40 s.

The cab can accomodate three men, but it usually carries only two operators. The firefighting system has automatic and semiautomatic valve control. The left part of the dashboard with the valve controls swings toward the driver to allow operation with a one man in the cab.

The vehicle carries 10,000 litres of water and 1,500 litres of Aqueous Film Forming Foam concentrate. The roof monitor is power assisted by three electric motors that control azimuth, elevation and foam pattern selector. Four undertruck nozzles are available for self protection. A reel with 30 m of hose is mounted on each side. The hose reel assembly swings out giving a 180° coverage. The vehicle is equipped with two 70 mm outlets, two 100 mm inlets for connetions to hydrants and one 150 mm inlet which can feed the pump from an external water source through a suction line.