New wave: the latest aerial assets in the war on wildfires

The recent devastating Californian wildfires were the latest in a series of conflagrations in Europe, Australia, Canada and elsewhere that have highlighted not just our vulnerability to rising global temperatures and changing weather patterns but the need for governments, public authorities and specialist contractors to arm themselves with the very latest fire detection and firefighting equipment – on the ground and in the air.

Recent years have seen the launch of several new aerial platforms into the firefighting market, ranging from the in-development De Havilland Canada DHC-515 – a successor to the Bombardier CL-415 – to specialist conversion programmes for the Airbus A319 and the Boeing 737-700.

Meanwhile, a firefighting variant of the De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 remains popular, as do helicopters such as the Sikorsky Firehawk – an adapted S-70i Black Hawk – and the Erickson S64F Air Crane. Among fixed-wing military transports, Embraer, Leonardo, and Lockheed Martin have been pushing the potential of their respective C-390, C-27J, and C-130J in a fire bomber role.

Calgary-based De Havilland has begun assembling its new firefighting amphibian – which it has rebranded the Canadair 515 in honour of the manufacturer of the original piston-powered CL-215, designed in the late-1960s as the first purpose-built firefighting aircraft. It is on track to begin deliveries in early 2028, according to Neil Sweeney, vice-president of corporate affairs.

De Havilland launched the programme in 2022 as the CL-515, six years after its parent Longview Aviation Capital acquired it from Bombardier, which had in turn taken over the state-owned Canadair in 1986. Bombardier closed the line in 2015 with some 95 CL-415s having been produced. Today, around 150 CL-215s and CL-415s remain in service.

De Havilland – previously known as Viking Aerospace – had earlier launched an “Enhanced Aerial Firefighter” version of the Pratt and Whitney Canada PW123AF-powered CL-415, for which Montana-based Bridger Aerospace was launch customer with an order for six aircraft. However, the Canadair 515 is a step-change in design, with a new water-drop control system, improved air conditioning, and better corrosion resistance.

Sweeney says there is “strong demand” for the Canadair 515, and while he will not disclose the full list of customers, the orderbook includes 22 aircraft for European Union countries that form the EU’s rescEU consortium. This is designed to provide a pool of firefighting and other emergency relief aircraft across the bloc. The firefighting aircraft will be based in Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain.

Assembly has moved from Bombardier’s former factory in Ontario to Calgary, although De Havilland has this year begun work on a new manufacturing and maintenance campus in Wheatland County, Alberta, east of the city. The company expects it to be operational around the time the Canadair 515 goes into volume production. De Havilland is gearing up for annual production of up to 12 examples.

Fellow Canadian firm and one of the biggest names in aerial firefighting Coulson Aviation is “well underway” on its conversion initiative with the Boeing 737-700, the first “Next Generation” or NG variant of the narrowbody to fill a firefighting role. The Vancouver Island-based company took delivery of its initial former Southwest Airlines 737-700 in May last year, the first of 10 to be repurposed under Coulson’s Next Gen Fireliner programme.

The effort builds on the success of Coulson’s earlier 737-300-based Fireliner, says Britt Coulson, president and chief operating officer, who describes the larger narrowbody as the “airtanker of the future”. Payload increases by about a quarter over the 737-300 to 19,000 litres (5,000USgal).

He expects the variant to be flying in the southern hemisphere late next year in preparation for the 2027 North American fire season. “We are taking our time to really get the installation time down, but we have the manpower to turn out about two a year. Ideally, we’d like to be producing three or four,” he says. A large feedstock of the “most-produced commercial airplane in the world”, a global service network, and a large pool of trained pilots boost the type’s credentials, he says.

Missoula, Montana-based Neptune Aviation has opted for the Airbus A319 for its newly launched conversion programme, which it expects to introduce in 2027. It is working with Toulouse based maintenance house Aerotec & Concept on the adaptation, the first such of the A319. It is yet to purchase its initial airframe and, while the French company will do the engineering work, Neptune will hold the air operator’s certificate.

The 30-year-old company, which also operates nine British Aerospace 146 tankers as well as five Gulfstream 690A Aero Commanders in an air attack role, plans to operate an eventual fleet of up to 15 aircraft, although it does not yet know what the likely mix will be of the two tanker types. “As we bring the A319s on it will depend on the market and our staffing, but the two complement each other really well,” says vice-president of operations Nic Lynn.

The A319 has the advantage of a roughly 50% larger payload at around 17,000 litres and is better suited to international operations because of its range, adds Lynn, who says the company evaluated several types, including the Boeing 757, before entering 18 months of discussions with Airbus. Ahead of adding the 146, it, rather aptly, operated Lockheed P2 Neptunes.

A ready supply of aircraft and pilots, plus the support of the airframer, convinced Neptune to choose the A319. Lynn dismisses suggestions Airbus’s fly-by-wire architecture makes its aircraft unsuitable for a slow-speed firefighting mission that can involve sudden changes in course. “We’ve been in the simulator and Airbus have run tests on the iron bird and the platform performed extremely well,” says Lynn. “We don’t perceive fly-by-wire to be an issue.”

Not all customers want or need dedicated firefighting aircraft, and Embraer is one manufacturer pushing the versatility of a multi-mission aircraft that can rapidly be adapted to a firefighting role. In December, it signed a contract with the Brazilian air force to provide a second example of the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System, known as MAFFS II, which it says can be installed on any KC-390 in the air force’s fleet in 2h 30min.

The original version of MAFFS was developed as a project funded by the US Forestry Service and Department of Defense in the early 1970s to integrate military air tankers into a national firefighting reserve and was manufactured by FMC with United Aeronautical and Blue Aerospace now holding the licence. MAFFS II comprises five retardant tanks with a total capacity of just over 12,000 litres. Retardant is dispersed through two tubes that extend out of hatches in the fuselage.

Embraer has secured further customers for the MAFFS II, says Frederico Lemos, chief commercial officer for Embraer Defense & Security. He will not name them, but Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, South Korea, Sweden and an undisclosed 10th country operate or have ordered the International Aero Engines V2500-powered type.

Lemos says the Brazilian air force has been using a first example of the kit on a KC-390 “extensively” for more than a year in the south of the nation and is “very pleased” with the aircraft’s performance in that mission. Rather than using dedicated firefighting aircraft, the MAFFS II conversion gives the air force “flexibility” and “a better use of resources”.

Leonardo has also begun to offer its C-27J with the “roll-on/roll-off” MAFFS II as a “Next Generation Fire Fighter” that has lower purchase and operating costs than a dedicated firefighting platform and can also be “quickly reconfigured” for transport, humanitarian support, civil protection, or search and rescue missions.

The Italian company says it decided to enter the market because of the rising incidence of wildfires in southern Europe. In December 2023, Slovenia became one of the first nations to commit to operating the transporter in a firefighting role after taking delivery of the first of two C-27Js configured with MAFFS II.

Lockheed Martin launched the LM-100J FireHerc, a firefighting variant of its C-130J Super Hercules, at the 2018 Farnborough air show. Although the C-130J had for decades been flown by military operators in a firefighting role, this was the first time the aircraft would be available specifically for that mission in a civil-certificated version.

Although Lockheed Martin has only delivered one LM-100J since its launch in 2014 – and none in the FireHerc configuration – firefighting engineer technical lead Richard Cree remains convinced of the Super Hercules’ capabilities in a firefighting role, based on its airframe, its engine, and its avionics, including a two-pilot head-up display for situational awareness.

“The C-130 is built purposely as a tactical airlifter as opposed to a commercial airliner. It’s non-swept high wing gives you visibility at low altitude and almost instantaneous lift, while the turboprop gives you instantaneous power,” he says. “Firefighting is just about the most dangerous flying you can do, and these are very useful attributes when you find yourself going down the wrong valley.”

In addition, the Rolls-Royce AE 2100-powered type’s short airfield capabilities mean it can take-off in hot conditions – such as from Ramona in southern California – with a full 15,000 litre payload of retardant. “Others that operate out of Ramona have to restrict their load,” he says.

The De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 – formerly the Bombardier Q400 regional turboprop – is another commercial type performing in a firefighting role throughout the world. In December 2024, firefighting operator and engineering specialist Conair said it had converted its twentieth example, almost 20 years after launching the programme. However, recent years have seen the Canadian firm step up its conversion efforts.

Michael Benson, Conair director of business development, said at the time: “In the last four years, we have seen demand surge, driven by increasing numbers of wildfires. Jurisdictions that needed to complement their current fleet with a new tool are doing so. And agencies that haven’t yet secured a fleet of their own aircraft are making inquiries.”

As well as operating its own Dash 8-400s, the Abbotsford, British Columbia-based company has supplied them to clients including the French government, which operates eight of the type in a multi-role version. Other customers include Australia, the US states of Alaska and Washington, and Canadian provinces Alberta and British Columbia.

Last year, Saskatchewan emerged as a major customer for the programme, announcing that it was replacing ageing Convair 580s with four Dash 8-400s from Conair – two -400AT air tankers and two multirole -400MREs. The aircraft will be introduced between late summer 2025 and the end of 2027. The province’s Public Safety Agency said they would be used in instances where amphibious water bombers cannot access lakes to fill their tanks.

Conair has been acquiring its aircraft from the airline market, in 2023 announcing that it was purchasing seven examples for conversion from Kirk Aviation and Aergo Capital. That came after a 2021 deal to buy 11 Dash 8-400s formerly operated by defunct UK regional carrier Flybe.

Conair has also been adding Daher TBM 960s to its fleet, not as air tankers but in an air attack or “bird-dog” role. These tend to be smaller, faster aircraft that fly over a fire with a pilot and observer who assesses risk, decides where retardant should be dropped, and communicates with other firefighting aircraft.

Daher delivered the second of two examples in January this year, with Conair, which had been operating a Cessna Caravan and Twin Commander in the role, noting that it had selected the French-built single-engine turboprop after analysing 50 types. It is the first time a TBM has been used in firefighting.

On the rotorcraft side, Sikorsky is the most prominent player, with 32 examples of the S-70 and S-70i Firehawk, a variant of the UH-60 Black Hawk, in service or on order, mostly in California. State agency Cal Fire – the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection – is the biggest operator, with 13 in service and three pending deliveries. Other operators include the counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange and Ventura, as well as the state of Colorado.

Helicopters play a different role in firefighting. Although they can drop less water than a fixed-wing aircraft, they can refill faster and fly more missions over a fire. Sikorsky partners with equipment specialist United Rotorcraft on a conversion programme for the military platform that raises the landing gear by 46cm to accommodate an almost 3,800-litre belly tank that can be replenished from lakes or other water supplies with a retractable snorkel in less than 1min.

The Lockheed Martin subsidiary has also partnered with technology developer Rain on a trial of an autonomously piloted Black Hawk on a firefighting mission. Performed last October at Sikorsky’s Stratford, Connecticut headquarters, the helicopter was remotely commanded to take off, identify the location of a small fire, and accurately drop water on it from a bambi bucket. Sikorsky pilots were in the cockpit to monitor flight controls, but were hands off until the aircraft landed.

“Autonomy is something we are very excited about,” says Firehawk regional sales lead Kate Grammer, who adds that Sikorsky is working with authorities in California to identify where to place a demonstrator aircraft fitted with the Rain system as well as Sikorsky’s own Matrix “digital co-pilot” technology.

The initiative is about eventually developing a fully autonomous platform that could be sent into more dangerous scenarios than a conventionally piloted aircraft. However, says Grammer, in the shorter term it is as much about reducing cockpit workload for a single pilot and “laying the groundwork” for certification of the technology with the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Firehawk is not the only version of the Black Hawk developed as a firefighter. Separately, Coulson has teamed with Kawak Aviation on a conversion programme that features a new version of the former’s 3,800-litre Retardant Aerial Delivery System III belly tank that features an updated control system and a faster pump system that cuts tank filling to 40 seconds.

Portland, Oregon-based Erikson has for more than 30 years offered a version of another legacy Sikorsky product, the S-64, as the S-64F Air Crane, and has been introducing a series of enhancements to that programme. In 2023, the FAA certificated the platform for night-vision-goggle operations. That followed a development agreement in 2020 to integrate Sikorsky’s Matrix autonomous flight control technology to create a fly-by-wire version of the Air Crane.

Not all firefighting aircraft have stood the test of time. In 2023, Kaman announced it was ending production of its single-engine K-Max after producing 60 helicopters. It was the second cancellation for the programme, which had been out of production between 2003 and 2015. The K-Max, which was also used in the logging and construction industries, featured distinctive synchronous intermeshing twin rotors, and had a 5,443kg (12,000lb) maximum take-off weight with an underslung load.

An even higher profile recent absentee from the firefighting world is the Boeing 747, with sole operator Global SuperTanker Services shutting in 2021 and selling its Jumbo. The adapted 747-400, the world’s largest water bomber, could carry over 72,700 litres of water or 66,200 litres of retardant and make up to eight segmented drops in one flight. It was truly a global operator, being used to fight fires in Bolivia, Chile, and Israel as well as California between 2016 and 2020.

It entered service in 2016 after the only other 747 firefighter, a -100, was scrapped when previous operator Evergreen folded in 2013. Despite the claim of former SuperTanker Services’ founder Dan Reese that its 20h-range and ability to make a massive initial assault on a wildfire made it unique in the industry, the costs of maintaining and operating the aircraft proved its downfall.

One thing all manufacturers of aerial firefighters agree on is that their platform is never an exclusive option in the never-ending battle against wildfires. “There is a role and space for all sorts of different aircraft,” says De Havilland’s Sweeney. However, with the traditional northern and southern hemisphere firefighting seasons seemingly morphing into one year-round season, more countries are assessing if they have the equipment for current and future risks, he says.

For Britt Coulson that means – in many cases – going bigger, as his company is with its new focus on the 737 Fireliner. “Yes, it’s way cheaper and tempting to go for a [single-engine turboprop] Air Tractor for $2 million when a 737 is $25 million,” he says. “But the track record of large aircraft in fighting devastating wildfires is so much better.”