Production of 12 new Canadair aircraft begins

The European Commission confirmed on Thursday that the production of 12 new DHC 515 firefighting aircraft, an improved version of the Canadair 415, is under way.

The Commission stated in its official announcement that the 12 aircraft would be permanently stationed in Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain, and will form the backbone of the European forest firefighting fleet (rescEU).

The aircraft will be funded by the European Commission.

The final agreement was preceded by the signing of individual and bilateral agreements between the EU member-states participating in the program and Canadian authorities.