Why Europe Won't Get Any New Canadair Water Bombers Any Time Soon
De Havilland says the Calgary plant can build only 10 planes a year after a nine-year gap left more than 50,000 parts to rebuild.
- As French firefighters struggle to contain wildfires with just 12 aerial water bombers, production of DHC-515 aircraft continues in Calgary, with first deliveries to France expected by at least 2028.
- Bombardier halted production in 2015, creating a nine-year gap that devastated supply chains before De Havilland restarted operations in 2024 following an initial order for 22 planes from the European Union.
- Operations Director Victor Ocadiz told AFP, "every hole, every rivet you see on the fuselage is being done manually," using more than 50,000 parts to build aircraft capable of scooping almost 6,000 liters of water.
- Opposition parties in France accuse the government of hindering firefighting through budget cuts, while De Havilland's strategy chief noted production restarts enable rapid part replacement for damaged aircraft repairs.
- The order book has grown to 40 aircraft, with Cote stating deliveries span 2028-2029 and 2032-2033, positioning France as the primary recipient amid the region's intensifying wildfire challenges.
32 Articles
32 Articles
While fires are increasing in Europe, Canadairs remain a scarce and strategic air capability. Only a few countries on the continent have these amphibious water bombers.
The Local - Fr
Why Europe won't get any new Canadair water bombers any time soon
As firefighters struggle to contain some of the worst European wildfires in living memory with reduced numbers of aerial water bombers, production of the iconic aircraft creaks along half a world away in a Canadian factory.
France's civil security fleet contends with chronic shortages and maintenance difficulties
Since the July 21 start of the Pontevès wildfire and the eve of the Gironde blaze, according to internal summaries from France's civil security agency reviewed by Le Monde, no more than eight of the country's 12 Canadair firefighting aircraft have been operational on the same day. Most often, that number is seven, and on the worst day, just five.
On social networks, some Internet users boast the merits of a Russian water bomber plane, the Beriev Be-200, while sharing elements that lack context
France's government is critical of its crisis management. This has to do with a legendary yellow plane – the "canadair." France has twelve of them, but only half of them are in operation.
The average age of the French Canadair is 30 years and their production has not yet been restarted at the Canadian plant in Calgary, but several other devices can be involved in the fight against flames.
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