The European Union plans to sign contracts this year for the purchase of up to 12 firefighting aircraft, its first fully owned, to gain more capabilities to deal with fires exacerbated by climate change, European Crisis Management Commissioner, Jannes Lenarcic, said on Wednesday.

The EU more than doubled its existing fleet of firefighting aircraft last year after devastating fires in southern Europe in the summer of 2022 showed the limits of its 13 aircraft.

The current fleet includes 28 aircraft, which are leased by Member-States or the private sector, so that there are capabilities of assistance in the wildfire season. The cost of this doubling of capacity is expected to amount to €23 million.

Yet as the climate crisis magnifies the risk of wildfires, Mr. Lenarcic said yesterday that Brussels plans to sign contracts by 2023 to buy 12 EU-owned firefighting aircraft in addition to another 12 to bolster national fleets.

The first aircraft could be delivered in two years and the entire fleet available by the end of the decade, the commissioner told Reuters news agency.

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Aviation industry de Havilland Canada has agreed to restart production of Canadair firefighting aircraft if orders are placed from the EU, according to Mr. Lenarcic.

Contracts will be signed by Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. The EU will finance the purchase of 12 of its own aircraft and the Member-States those of the aircraft that will join the national fleets.

De Havilland said that it has completed the DHC-515 design review process and expects to finalize contracts with customers in the coming months and first delivery before the 2027 wildfire season.

In general, national authorities are responsible for dealing with wildfires, but they have the option to ask for help from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, while Brussels also has the flexibility to offer assistance to non-member states. The mechanism received 11 such requests in 2022 and 4 so far this year, including those from Greece and Tunisia.

Source: CNN Greece

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