De Havilland seeks national water bomber fleet to meet demand

De Havilland Aircraft of Canada is calling for the creation of a national fleet of water bombers to combat increasing wildfire threats. The company is currently struggling to meet rising global demand for its Canadair DHC-515 amphibious firefighting aircraft.

Production of these specialized turboprops was revived in 2024 following orders from several European nations. However, a previous production halt that began in 2015 caused the evaporation of a complex supply chain involving 60,000 parts, pushing the projected delivery of the first aircraft to early 2028.

Neil Sweeney, De Havilland’s vice-president of corporate affairs, stated that an order for 50 new water bombers from Canadian federal or provincial governments would provide the hundreds of millions of dollars required to launch a second production line at a new assembly plant east of Calgary.