Published • loading... • Updated
Canadian-Made De Havilland Super Scooper Dominates Firefighting Market as Demand Rises
De Havilland says the DHC-515 is the only purpose-built water bomber in production as governments face longer fire seasons and aging fleets.
- On October 30, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced up to $2.5 billion in financing to help De Havilland open a second production line in Wheatland County, Alta.
- The De Havilland DHC-515 remains the only purpose-built water bomber currently in production, prized for lifting 6,000 litres of water in 12 seconds, a capability rooted in the original Canadair CL-215 design.
- Mike Flannigan, director of the Institute for Wildfire Science, Adaptation and Resiliency at Thompson Rivers University, estimates each Super Scooper costs about $40,000 per hour to operate.
- French startups Hynaero and Kepplair Evolution are developing prototypes capable of carrying up to 12,500 litres of water, challenging De Havilland's market dominance with new competition.
- Longer fire seasons and intense smoke are driving international demand for aerial firefighting capacity, according to Emily Hope of the Fire Management Systems Laboratory in Toronto, pressuring governments to modernize aging fleets.
Insights by Ground AI
22 Articles
22 Articles
Coverage Details
Total News Sources22
Leaning Left22Leaning Right0Center0Last UpdatedBias Distribution100% Left
Bias Distribution
- 100% of the sources lean Left
100% Left
L 100%
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
