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.
Europe is grappling with some of its worst wildfires in recent memory, overwhelming firefighters' ability to combat the blazes using aerial water bombers, a critical tool for fighting fires in rugged and remote areas. The iconic Canadair water bombers, built by De Havilland, are currently being produced abroad, causing a long delay in their delivery to European countries.
With a nine-year production gap between the previous builder Bombardier and the current manufacturer, De Havilland, the aircraft are slow to arrive. France, experiencing its worst wildfire season on record, is expected to receive its first two aircraft in 2028-2029, while Spain may wait until 2032-2033. The supply chain issues have exacerbated the situation, with parts and suppliers needing to be re-established.
Canadair's manual production process, involving manual drilling and riveting, contributes to the slow production rates, producing only 10 aircraft per year. As the wildfires rage on, the lack of water bombers and the lengthy wait for more are causing political tensions in both France and Spain, where several firefighting deaths have occurred and numerous wildfires continue to burn.
Written by urgent.news from The Local Sweden's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
