Faced with global warming and the recurrence of fires, more and more countries are interested in the acquisition of water bombers from the Canadian aircraft manufacturer. > By
At the International Aeronautical Fair in Farnborough, in the suburbs of London on Tuesday, July 19, there was a good time that the chalet of the aircraft manufacturer of Havilland had not experienced such a crowd. It must be said that the Canadian group, a subsidiary of the longview investment fund, is the manufacturer of the famous Canadair. Water bombers today in great demand while fires rage in the world and especially in France, where they have already burned more than 20,000 hectares.
Camped in the middle of the stand with his stature of Quebec lumberjack, Jean-Philippe Côté, vice-president of the Havilland Canada program, has a smile: business resumes. The one who was “one of the very first Canadian aviation companies”, as the manager proudly recalls, was almost stopped for many years. “It has been almost ten years since no Canada has been sold or delivered,” he said. But this time is now over. After “eighteen months of discussion”, underlines the vice-president, six countries of the European Union- France, Greece, Italy, Croatia, Spain and Portugal- have placed twenty two water bombers. A group contract which did not have the primary purpose of lowering the price of seaplanes, but which was added to the six copies previously retained by Indonesia.
This orderly fairly extensive order book led the aircraft manufacturer to decide at the end of March “the restart of the production line” of its latest addition, Canadair DHC 515. Indeed, these few years of production guaranteed were the prerequisite for Havilland to give the green light to “a major investment” which he nevertheless refuses to specify the amount. Catalog price, the DHC 515 is billed around 35 million dollars (35 million euros).
first deliveries “from 2026”
Contrary to what seems to have been originally considered, the new devices will not replace but rather strengthen the twelve Canadia of old generation which make up the French fleet of water bombers. This is not early youth. More than two-thirds of seaplanes have been in service for more than twenty-five years. This is not a reason for worry, however, the Canadian aircraft manufacturer underlines. Of the 220 Canadair produced since their launch in 1969, said Mr. Côté, “there are 160 in service, half of which is operated in Europe and the other in North America”. It must be said that, since the 1970s, the various owners of Canadair have regularly remotorized the “firefighter”, the fighter of fire.
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