It is the symbol of the fight against forest fires.
His commitment, as on the huge fires that have ravaged the Gironde these last twelve days, often testifies to the importance of a fire.
“When we know that we are going to have the reinforcement of a Pelican (
the nickname of Canadair
), we are relieved”, blows a firefighter accustomed to wildfires.
Because these yellow and red behemoths, chaining up to 25 drops per hour, capable of scooping 6000 liters of water in a few seconds in the open sea or in a lake, are engaged sparingly in order to manage the French fleet.
A fleet of 12 water bombers that France could see reinforced with new aircraft in the coming years.
Indeed, the Canadian aeronautical company De Havilland has announced that it has “an agreement with the European Union for an order for our new aircraft, the Canadair DHC-515”.
An order for 22 Canadair should thus be completed for Europe.
According to our information, only two would be destined for France.
It is in addition to the six devices requested by Indonesia.
To read alsoAging Canadairs, lack of volunteers... can France fight against mega-fires?
“We had requests from several European countries
(Croatia, Spain, France, Greece, Italy and Portugal)
but they were individual.
It wasn't enough to restart the production chain,” explains Jean-Philippe Côté, vice-president of De Havilland Canada.
After unveiling its new device in March, the group intends to obtain certification for this device by 2025 so that the first devices leave the factory from 2026 to 2029. At least 500 jobs should be created for assembly in Canada.
If the aircraft are mounted in series, it only takes a few months to produce a Canadair.
A grouped order to relaunch production at a standstill
A grouped order which justifies relaunching production stopped for almost ten years but which should also make it possible to lower the bill for Europe.
If, even in the absence of competition, Jean-Philippe Côté wants to be discreet about the price of a device or the amount of the EU's commitment, some sources mention a unit price of around 50 million euros. .
VIDEO.
Fire in the Var: a pleasure boat grazed by a Canadair in the middle of the scooping area
“Our device is quite unique.
We are going to modernize the cockpit compared to the CL-415
(old model, that of the 12 planes of the French fleet),
improve the reliability of certain systems or even change materials to fight against corrosion linked to the scooping of water from sea", reveals the vice-president of De Havilland.
Two new water bombers which could, in part, renew the French fleet, which is between 25 and 30 years old and whose aging was already worrying the authors of a senatorial report submitted in 2019. "These devices are very robust, assures Jean -Philippe Cote.
Of the 220 produced between 1970 and 2015, 160 are still in service.
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