European Startups Race to Develop New Aerial Firefighting Aircraft

Several European startups are developing new or converted water bombers to replace the aging fleet of Canadair aircraft used to combat wildfires. This push for innovation follows a year in which nearly 500,000 hectares burned across Europe and a parliamentary panel warned that France's aerial firefighting fleet faces a major crisis. The effort involves a variety of approaches, ranging from converting second hand planes to designing entirely new amphibious aircraft from scratch.

In Toulouse, France, the startup Positive Aviation is using a disused ATR 72 fuselage as a testbed for a water scooper designed to draw water from floats. The company aims to be ready by 2028 and has a provisional order for 10 planes from Bridger Aerospace. Another firm, Kepplair, is testing a ground loaded tanker using an ATR 72 to replace the veteran Dash 8 for pre emptive patrols. Other ambitious projects include HYNAERO, which claims its Fregate F100 would hold 10 tons of water and be twice as efficient as a Canadair, and Italy's 19 01 Holding, which plans to start assembly of its WF X amphibious plane in 2031.

Experts warn that the path to delivery is difficult because Western nations have lost much of their professional seaplane design skill since the 1950s. Financial hurdles are also significant, with development costs estimated between tens of millions of dollars for simple conversions and over 1 billion dollars for new aircraft. While some firms seek private funding or industrial partnerships, analysts emphasize that the time required to move from design to delivery is often underestimated.