In Athens, Greece, the government has given approval for the purchase of seven firefighting aircraft from Canada in an effort to strengthen its defenses against wildfires that have plagued the country in recent years.
The deal, which was passed by Parliament, entails the acquisition of seven DHC-515 aircraft from the Canadian Commercial Corp for a total cost of 361 million euros ($392 million).
These new aircraft are part of a larger initiative to modernize Greece’s aging fleet and are scheduled to be delivered between 2027 and 2030 as per the agreement. Compared to the country’s current Canadair fleet, these aircraft are capable of carrying larger amounts of water and have a longer flight range.
Additionally, two of the jets will be included in the EU RescEU reserve program, allowing Greece to lend them to other EU countries during emergencies.
Wildfires during the summer months have been a recurring issue in Greece, but due to rising temperatures and drought conditions, they have become more frequent, larger in scale, and have raised concerns about the government’s ability to contain the damage.
In the previous year, fires destroyed tens of thousands of hectares in the northeast region, while the deadliest fire on record claimed the lives of 104 individuals outside Athens in 2018.
The purchase of these aircraft is part of a broader 2.1 billion euro scheme, primarily funded by the EU, which will also provide Greece with firefighting equipment such as drones, fire detectors, fire engines, and meteorological stations.
($1 = 0.9217 euros)
(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou and Yannis Souliotis; Writing by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Edward McAllister and Leslie Adler)
