Canadair

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will travel to Canada later this week, where he will finalize a deal to purchase seven DHC-515 Firefighters, the newest water bombers built by De Havilland, Toronto's Globe and Mail newspaper reported Wednesday. 

A Greek Air Force F-16 (Block 52+ variant) fighter jet crashed into a sea off the small island of Psathoura, in the northern Aegean.

The pilot managed to escape from the single seater aircraft using the ejection system. He was located and collected by a Super Puma helicopter and is being transferred to hospital.

The large wildfire in Aspropyrgos, western Greece, reached the perimeter of the Hellenic Air Force's 112 Combat Wing at Elefsina Air Base earlier on Tuesday but was quickly stopped, Greek media reported.

Greece on Monday dispatched two Canadair fire-fighting aircraft after a call for assistance from fellow European Union member Cyprus to help fight a blaze that has scorched miles of mountainous terrain.

The funeral of 27-year-old Second Lieutenant Periklis Stefanidis, who died when a Canadair CL-215 firefighting plane crashed during operations on the island of Evia on Tuesday, took place in his hometown of Kilkis on Thursday.

Both Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Defense Minister Nikos Dendias were present for the service, as was an honorary Hellenic Air Force detachment.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will attend the funeral of Second Lieutenant Periklis Stefanidis in Kilkis on Thursday, while President Katerina Sakellaropoulou will be present at the funeral of Captain Christos Moulas in Chania on the island of Crete on Friday.

The wildfires raging on the islands of Rhodes, Evia, Corfu and several locations in mainland Greece caused the first human casualties Tuesday.

Two Greek Air Force pilots died on the island of Evia when a Canadair CL-215 firefighting plane crashed near the town of Karystos shortly after 2 p.m., an Air Force spokesman announced.

A search and rescue operation is underway for two airmen on the island of Evia after their Canadair firefighting aircraft crashed while battling the wildfire that is raging in the southern part of the island.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the Fire Service's special aerial operations units at the Elefsina Air Base, the 383rd Special Operations & Air Firefighting Squadron, and the 355th Tactical Transport Squadron on Saturday to express his support for the crews fighting to contain numerous wildfires that have ravaged areas in Attica over the past week amid scorching temperatures. 

Eight new CL-515 will be bought and the eight existing CL-415 will be upgraded to the CL-515 standard as well