The modified Airbus A400M utilizes a removable Roll-on/Roll-off (RORO) module containing a 20,000-liter internal tank capable of discharging 20 tonnes of retardant in under ten seconds, producing a single-pass pattern equivalent to 3.3 CL-415 Canadair loads. Following flight validation by the Directorate General for Civil Security and Crisis Management, the ground-refillable system integrates into existing military airframes without structural modifications, allowing rapid conversion between tactical airlift and heavy aerial firefighting missions.

Defining power as simply a measure of tactical and strategic airlift capability is definitely a vast oversimplification, but as far as simplifications go it sure does end up being true a lot more often than you would think. Still, dedicated firefighting tanker aircraft are still superior at the job obviously...

Its 20,000-litre load equals 3.3 Canadair loads at 6,000 litres each, two Dash loads at 10,000 litres each and more than six Air Tractor loads at 3,100 litres each. That figure does not mean the A400M can replace three Canadairs in sustained operations, because sortie generation depends on refill method and distance from the fire. A Canadair can scoop 6,000 litres from the sea or a suitable lake in roughly 12 seconds and return directly to the target, allowing several cycles per hour when water is close to the fire. The A400M must return to a runway after every release, meaning that a fire located 100 km from the selected base can impose more than 200 km of transit for each cycle before landing and ground replenishment are included. Its operational value is therefore highest when one long retardant barrier is required in a single pass, while Canadairs remain more efficient for repeated direct attacks on flame fronts.

Also note that there has already been testing with launching UAVs out of Airbus A400Ms, yes for military purposes but regardless it is reasonable to expect a A400M doing a firefighting mission could deploy a UAV from the A400M so that the pilots had a direct capacity (with the drone pilot also in the aircraft flying the drone) to see a precise picture of the situation on the ground that would not put the tanker in unnecessary danger and allow a risky flight path to be taken by a potentially disposable drone to gain valuable information without requiring another expensive manned firefighting platform to conduct reconnaisance for the tanker.

This kind of integration of manned aircraft and unmanned aircraft is exciting because it means that a massive firefighting tanker can more reliably put all of its payload onto exactly where it needs to be.

https://aerospaceglobalnews.com/news/airbus-a400m-drone-mothership-2029/