Greece Advances Firefighting Fleet Upgrade with EU Support
By Bosphorus News Staff
Greece is moving ahead with plans to renew and expand its aerial firefighting fleet through a mix of national procurement projects and European Union civil protection programs.
The country’s Civil Protection authority says Greece will become the first European Union member state to acquire two new DHC-515 amphibious firefighting aircraft, a next-generation water-bombing plane designed to scoop water from seas or lakes and drop it directly on wildfires. The aircraft are set to join the permanent rescEU reserve, the European Union’s shared emergency fleet used in major disasters.
The European Commission said on August 13, 2024 that production had begun for 12 amphibious firefighting aircraft under the rescEU program after participating member states signed agreements with the Canadian Commercial Corporation.
A separate procurement track is focused on island coverage. On an official project page, Greece’s Civil Protection authority says the planned acquisition of amphibious single-engine firefighting aircraft for island groups will significantly upgrade national capacity, with an emphasis on faster detection and faster initial response.
The renewal effort reflects the age of Greece’s current fleet. The country still relies heavily on Canadair CL-215 and CL-415 aircraft, older amphibious water-bombers that have formed the backbone of its aerial firefighting capability for decades.
The funding base extends beyond rescEU. Greece’s Recovery and Resilience Facility documentation includes civil protection investment lines tied to aerial assets used in crisis management and disaster response, placing fleet renewal within a broader modernization effort across emergency services.
The official record points to more than a single aircraft order. Greece is building a broader renewal plan that combines large amphibious planes financed through European Union mechanisms with smaller aircraft suited to island terrain, where distance and access can shape the first hours of a fire.