France’s Wildfire Fight Stalls on Aging Planes | Calgary News

France’s wildfire crisis is hitting hard as it struggles with just a dozen aging aerial water bombers—slow, hand-built Canadairs made in Calgary, Canada. Production halted for nine years until 2024, when De Havilland restarted, but only two planes are expected to reach France by 2028. With just ten planes a year possible, the shortage has sparked political blame and delays. France’s order of four new DHC-515s, due between 2028–2033, won’t help soon. The restart forced De Havilland to hunt for 50,000 lost parts and new suppliers—but ironically, it’s now easier to fix older planes, keeping them flying longer. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/ab891b1e3d36cf2b