Visitors to air shows are often attracted to military aircraft, commercial airliners, or business jets. This year in Farnborough, Great Britain, the water bombers attract people. In the face of the mega-fires that devastate Europe, they continue to be the most effective weapon. These planes are in fact at the heart of the fight against these gigantic fires that devastate territories of several tens of thousands of hectares, destroying forests, fields, houses and factories.
In fact, the stand of de Havilland (a subsidiary of Bombardier), the manufacturer of the famous Canadair and Dash, attracts an unusual crowd to discover the DHC-515 Firefighter. This new device has been designed to fight the largest and most violent fires, in all situations. It can dump up to 700,000 liters of water in a day without needing to land. It fills its tanks in 12 seconds in lakes, rivers, rivers and in the seas, even in the middle of a storm. You can make up to 15 drops per hour.
Older-generation Canadairs, like those used by French firefighters, only discharge 6,000 liters of water per pass after refueling at sea or in a lake. As for the Dashes, they can drop 10,000 liters of water but must land to fill the tanks.
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To afford this plane at around 35 million euros each, customers are struggling. In Europe, France, Greece, Italy, Croatia, Spain and Portugal have ordered 22 aircraft. Indonesia has ordered 6. To deliver the first devices in 2026, de Havilland has reopened a production line that has been closed for years.
De Haviland is not the only manufacturer in this increasingly limited market. For ten years, Boeing has had the largest aircraft to fight megafires with a 747 transformed into a water bomber. This supertanker can carry 77,000 liters of water. Its main competitor is a derivative of the DC-10, the McDonnell Douglas Air Tanker. Its tank has a capacity for 45,000 liters of water that must be filled when landing.
The Russians are also on board with the Beriev Be-200 “Altaïr”. This amphibious device was designed for fighting giant fires. It is equipped with 8 water tanks and 4 retractable shovels that allow it to load 12 tons of water in just 14 seconds. This capacity allows it to throw up to 270 tons of water in a single flight.
China is not far behind with the AG600 FireFighter. This giant is an amphibious aircraft of gigantic dimensions. Currently in flight testing, it has a maximum capacity of 12 tons of water. According to Avic, its builder, the test program plan includes fire suppression in 2023 and certification in 2024.
Source: BFM TV
