Aviation News –
De Havilland Aircraft of Canada has reached significant production milestones for its DHC-515 Firefighter, a specialized amphibious aircraft designed to combat the increasing threat of global wildfires. With a growing order book from both European nations and Canadian provinces, this development marks a critical step in modernizing aerial firefighting capabilities across two continents.
The company is currently manufacturing 22 aircraft for a group of European customers that includes Croatia, Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, and France. This international collaboration is mirrored by strong domestic interest, as De Havilland Canada recently finalized contracts with the provinces of Manitoba, Ontario, and Alberta to bolster their local wildfire response fleets.
Production is centered in the company’s Canadian manufacturing facilities, where engineers have successfully joined the cockpit and the hull at the Calgary aerostructure assembly line. This process forms the essential forward fuselage of the first aircraft, signaling that the transition from design to physical assembly is well underway.
A major technical achievement in this phase is the completion of the first DHC-515 wing box, a massive structural component measuring 28.6 meters in length. As the world’s only purpose-built amphibious firefighting aircraft, the DHC-515 is engineered to refill its tanks in seconds from open bodies of water, providing a high-volume, rapid-response tool that outpaces converted commercial planes in rugged terrain.
