As we reported at the time, the death of two young airmen at the end of July last year, when their amphibious Canadair CL-215 aircraft crashed while firefighting on Evia, highlighted the need for updating the fleet of these aircraft, which while they were long considered the most effective in terms of firefighting capacity are now outdated in terms of their manoeuvrability and lack of modern controls.

The Canadair’s history
The first plane ever designed specially for aerial firefighting, the original model, the CL-215, first came into service in 1969, and some of them are still in service with the Greek Air Force. The CL-215 quickly became established as the most effective firefighting plane available and by the time production ceased in 1990, 125 of the aircraft had been built and sold to customers in 11 countries. As of July 2023, the Hellenic Air Force had 11 CL-215s, a figure reduced by the crash on Evia at the end of that month.

A newer model, the CL-415 “Super Scooper”, was upgraded to turboprop instead of the original aircooled radial engines and had greater power and manoeuvrability. Production started in 1994. The CL-415 has an updated cockpit, enhanced aerodynamics and changes to the water-release system. It can scoop up to 6,140 litres of water from a nearby water source, mix it with a chemical foam if desired, and drop it on a fire without having to return to base to refill its tanks. The Greek Air Force has 7 CL-415s in addition to the CL215s originally acquired.

The CL-215 was originally produced by the Canadair company, whose name has persisted as the vernacular term for all types of the aircraft, but in the 1980s the company was acquired by Bombardier Aerospace, who developed and marketed the CL-415 and continued production up to 2015. A year later, the project was acquired by Viking Air, a subsidiary of Longview Aviation, which began development of a modernised version, the CL-515.

The De Havilland Canadair 515
An article on the FlightGlobal.com website of 31/03/2022 reported that Longview Aviation was merging Viking Air with the long-established De Havilland company, which it also owned, and that the CL-515 would now be produced under the De Havilland brand with the name DHC-515. The same article summarised the development as follows:

“The DHC-515 will be an updated variant of CL-series aircraft, which had been products of Viking Air, also a Longview subsidiary. Viking launched the CL-515 in 2019 but put the effort on ice during the pandemic. Viking previously said the CL-515 would have twin Pratt & Whitney Canada PW123AF turboprops and Collins Aerospace’s Pro Line Fusion digital avionics. It was also to have improved corrosion protection, an increased landing weight and the ability to carry 7,000 litres (1,850 US gal) of water, up from the CL-415’s 6,000-litre capacity. The DHC-515 can also be equipped with a ‘spray boom for insect control or oil-spill dispersant’, or a larger cargo door suited for disaster-relief missions, according to Viking’s website. It can also be equipped as medevac aircraft.”

At the time of last year’s accident, reports in the Greek media stated that production of the DHC-515 had not started because there were insufficient orders to start a production line, and noted that the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was urging the EU to pull together sufficient orders for this to happen. A year later there has been sufficient progress for an official announcement, reported in the English edition of Protothema.gr on 23rd August:

“The European Commission has announced the start of production for 12 new Canadair DHC-515 firefighting aircraft, which will form the permanent European forest firefighting fleet (rescEU). These aircraft will be permanently stationed in Greece, Croatia, France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain.

“Greece will acquire a total of seven new DHC-515s, five of which will replace the old CL-215 aircraft in the national fleet, and two will be provided through the European rescEU mechanism. The total cost of the seven new Canadairs is estimated to exceed 400 million euros, with most of the funding coming from the [Ministry of Climate Change and Civil Protection’s] ‘Aegis’ program, while part of the expenses will be covered by European funds. The first aircraft are expected to be delivered by the end of 2027.”

The contract signed
The contract was in fact signed in March of this year, having been finalised during the visit of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Canada in that month. On 24^th March, the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC), which manages contracts between the Canadian and foreign governments was able to state:

“CCC is proud to announce the signing of a government to government (G2G) contract with the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection of Greece for the sale of De Havilland Canadair 515 aircraft manufactured by De Havilland Canada (DHC). Through CCC’s contract, DHC will supply Greece with seven (7) De Havilland Canadair 515 aircraft, as well as spare parts, training, and support. The contract is the result of ongoing cooperation between CCC, DHC, the European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism (rescEU) and its Member States to supply the EU with Canadian-made firefighting aircraft.”

The CCC’s announcement quoted the EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič as saying:
“Ahead of last year’s wildfire season, the EU doubled its shared firefighting fleet to include almost thirty firefighting planes and helicopters. This preparation was most visibly proved right in August, when the EU came to Greece’s aid with its largest aerial rescEU operation to date to tackle the largest wildfire ever recorded on our continent. However, as the impacts of climate breakdown intensify at unprecedented speed, wildfire preparedness across Europe must be further improved. That is why I most strongly welcome the start of the acquisition of new firefighting planes by Greece. … This represents a significant investment in providing a better safety net for Greek but also other EU’s citizens, lifting European wildfires preparedness to a new level.”

And Karine Asselin, Canada’s Ambassador to Greece, stated:
“We are thrilled that Greece and the CCC have concluded the agreement for the procurement of seven state-of-the art firefighter aircraft from De Havilland Canada. This aircraft is a crucial tool in the fight against the devastating effects of climate change, and Canada is proud to partner with Greece in years to come.”

Finally, as an indication of concrete progress in the project, on Monday 7^th October, the Deputy Finance Minister Nikos Papathanasis announced the purchase of one DHC-515 at a cost of €53.1 million, to be co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and to be managed by the Climate Crisis ministry – presumably an initial instalment of the overall contract.

Advantages of the DHC-515
As stated above, the improvements incorporated in the new Canadair model include uprated engines and avionics and a 15 per cent increase in water capacity. In a promotional video issued by Viking Air in 2020, it is claimed that the known advantages of the existing Canadair include its ability to operate at low altitudes, down to 100 feet, when other water bombers lose their effectiveness due to the requirement for operating at higher speeds and higher altitudes. With its increased water capacity and a suitable nearby water source, the DHC-515 is able to operate on a 10-minute turnaround cycle, making it capable of delivering some 500,000 litres or 500 tons of water per day – far in excess of that of firefighting helicopters or other, larger aircraft.

As the video notes: “The main evolution with the 515 is the introduction of a new fully-integrated digital avionics suite with multi-function displays, a three-dimensional map and a heads-up display system allowing the pilot to simultaneously monitor the environment and flight information within his field of vision. Another new development is a night vision system.” In addition the use of new materials and anti-corrosion treatments enable maintenance costs to be reduced by 15 per cent.

Other enhancements make it “a capable multi-mission aircraft [able] to operate outside of fire season. A search radar is installed on one side of the aircraft, which can detect marine traffic, for example an illegal fishing boat. On the other side of the aircraft a video system can analyse images of a shipwreck and determine if there are people needing rescue,” while in an emergency it is also able to land on water and conduct rescue operations.

The continuing development of the Canadair demonstrates the longevity of certain aircraft types which, once a basic airframe suitable for a particular purpose is created, are capable of almost indefinite improvement with the fitting of new engines and avionics. This seems to be particularly true of amphibians, where the aircraft shape is dictated by its ability to operate from water rather than by considerations of economy, speed or passenger capacity, which govern the development of modern commercial passenger aircraft.

Most notably there is a proposal to develop a new version of the classic World War II flying boat, the Catalina, which was built under license by Canadair and which the CL-215 was designed to replace. According to Wikipedia: “In July 2023 a company called Catalina Aircraft, current holder of the Type Certificates for the Catalina, announced an intent to build the Catalina II, a new aircraft on the basic design principles of the original Catalina but using turboprop engines and other modern aviation tools. Deliveries are said to commence by 2029.”

The Grumman Albatross, another flying boat designed for air-sea rescue operations which was in production from 1949 to 1961, is also due for revival. Again according to Wikipedia: “Amphibian Aerospace Industries in Darwin, Australia, acquired the type certificate and announced in December 2021 that it planned to commence manufacturing a new version of the Albatross from 2025. Dubbed the G-111T, it would have modern avionics and Pratt & Whitney PT6A-67F turboprop engines, with variants for passengers, freight, search and rescue, coastal surveillance, and aeromedical evacuation.”