Dive into the hot topic of France's forest fires and the wild world of water bomber planes! From aging fleets to futuristic solutions and wild ideas like helicopters with bambi buckets, we cover what’s working, what’s not, and what’s next. Love aviation or just want to know how fires are fought? Hit subscribe, join the convo, and tell us your favorite part in the comments! #aviation #firefighting #France #technology #news
👉 This channel was created in collaboration with https://www.youtube.com/@xaviertytelman
0:00 - Introduction and Fleet Overview
1:03 - Challenges in Fleet Availability
3:33 - Potential Solutions and Projects
5:37 - Deployment Limitations and Structural Issues
6:48 - Foreign Aircraft Options Reviewed
8:11 - Canadian and Future National Solutions
9:41 - Immediate Recommendations and National Projects
12:23 - Innovation, Ground Teams, and Conclusion
We are now available on Spotify! Listen now https://open.spotify.com/show/6KW2Zo9GU39VZSvv2zIpxM
👉 This channel was created in collaboration with https://www.youtube.com/@xaviertytelman
0:00 - Introduction and Fleet Overview
1:03 - Challenges in Fleet Availability
3:33 - Potential Solutions and Projects
5:37 - Deployment Limitations and Structural Issues
6:48 - Foreign Aircraft Options Reviewed
8:11 - Canadian and Future National Solutions
9:41 - Immediate Recommendations and National Projects
12:23 - Innovation, Ground Teams, and Conclusion
We are now available on Spotify! Listen now https://open.spotify.com/show/6KW2Zo9GU39VZSvv2zIpxM
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MotorTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to this video where we will discuss the issue of forest fires in France,
00:04the situation of our water bomber planes, what we have available, what we should have done,
00:09and what we need to do now that the shortage has been identified.
00:12First we need to review our fleet status. So France has about a dozen Canadair planes,
00:17the CL-415s which are large water bomber aircraft. These are what we call amphibious planes,
00:23meaning they can scoop up water before dropping tons of it, which with the blast effect helps
00:28put out the fire. The second category is what we call the Dash 8S and we have eight of those.
00:33These are aircraft that land on the ground at specially equipped airports, which we call
00:37pelicandromes. We have 27 pelicandromes spread across the entire country, which allows for
00:42relatively quick rotations. And since they always land on the ground, they are particularly used to
00:48drop retardant. That's the red liquid we always see, which helps slow down the fire. And along
00:55with these aircraft, we have beach crafts. There are three of them, which are our coordination and
00:59observation planes, which generally helps improve the fleet's efficiency. The problem is that this
01:04fleet may seem relatively large, but on one hand, the needs are increasing every year. And on top of
01:09that, its availability isn't necessarily up to par. For example, on July 1st, 2025, there were only nine
01:15Canadairs and six Dash available. And this year, there aren't any official statistics, but a Canadair pilot
01:21revealed that only five Canadairs were actually available for the fires we're currently experiencing.
01:26So it's an improvement compared to before. Let me remind you that I left civil security in 2017.
01:32And in the years that followed, there were some days when only two aircraft were able to scoop water.
01:37So when we got back to 5, 8, 9, 10, obviously it's an improvement. It's still below the availability
01:43target, which is 98%. That's just theory, because the Canadair fleet in France is on average 27 and a
01:50half years old. And that's the case everywhere in the world, since these planes stopped being built
01:56several decades ago and there is absolutely no solution. So for 2026, the government has also leased
02:03aircraft, especially air tractors, which are small planes mainly used for agricultural spraying and can
02:08carry more than a ton of water. Now they're being widely used by many countries for firefighting.
02:15Then there are four light helicopters equipped with what's called a Bambi bucket, which means they can
02:20carry about a ton of water underneath on a kind of sling that allows for relatively quick trips between
02:25the fire zone and the places where they can scoop up water, including swimming pools, which really
02:30increases the number of available water sources. Six heavy helicopters have been rented, which significantly
02:36impacts operations due to their high turnaround rate. And in the example you see on the screen with
02:41this helicopter, it's a Super Puma that on July 25th was able to make 17 drops of four tons of
02:46water in
02:47just one hour and 20 minutes. So obviously it doesn't have the same immediate impact you might expect when
02:52you have the Canadair or the water bomber planes that drop it directly on the fire. But nevertheless,
02:56that's dozens and dozens of tons of water. So it's very important. It really has an impact.
03:01There are also the departmental fire and rescue services known as the SDIS, which can also rent
03:07aircraft helicopters. And right now, obviously, the need is huge all over Europe. So the prices are
03:12very, very high. But nevertheless, there are still rentals happening. And so there is also additional
03:17support from private companies which provide these water bomber planes or water bomber helicopters on a
03:22very occasional basis. So let's be clear. There are resources. There are resources available and efforts have
03:28been made. Availability is better now than it was a few years ago. There have been rentals. But there
03:33are still controversies that are simply based on absolutely nothing concrete. Because there were
03:40things we could have done, and there are accusations that are simply wrong. So what could we have done?
03:46First, you saw that for the first time we used the A400M as a water bomber. So it's a kit
03:52that has been
03:52developed for several years, with the first patents dating back to 2015 so we could have moved much faster on
03:57this
03:58project. And today, there is only one prototype that belongs to Airbus as part of the development,
04:03which is available. And so this prototype, it was used in France as a water bomber. Let me remind you,
04:09the A400M can theoretically carry over 30 tons of payload. But here, we put a kit on it that can
04:15be
04:15installed very quickly in just a few dozen minutes, and it can carry 20 tons of retardant. Simply, the A400M
04:22can't land on all the air tanker bases. It has to go back, either to ISTRAs in this case. Here,
04:27that means a round trip will take more than three hours. So, the turnaround is relatively slow.
04:32But obviously, if one day we're better organized, if there's preparation, we can imagine that there
04:36could be rotations that are much more intense and much faster. But for this year, we hadn't placed
04:41an order, so there's only one kit available. It's the prototype kit. And now, if we really want to have
04:47more, we have to place an order right away. Except that the production lead time means delivery
04:51would come 18 months later. That would be in early 2028, which is fairly late compared to the other
04:57projects I'll mention next. Another issue is the availability of planes in the Air Force. The Air
05:03Force doesn't have enough A400Ms, so they would need more A400Ms in order to have a few that would
05:08be dedicated and kept on the ground to be ready in case of a fire. So, you still need to
05:13have more of
05:13them. You need to train the pilots. You need to have more air tanker bases to be more efficient,
05:17to do shorter rotations, instead of always going to ISTRAs or airports reserved for the A400M. And
05:22then, you need to know who pays. Is it civil protection that's going to pay? Or is it the Air
05:27Force? And at that point, the budget has to keep up to meet those increased needs. But in any case,
05:33obviously, it's interesting and it's a project that shouldn't be overlooked. We could have implemented
05:38another system called KILUM as early as this year. KILUM, what is it? There are kind of large canisters
05:44that fit in boxes that weigh a ton in which we put water or retardant. And actually, it can be
05:49dropped from any military plane capable of opening its rear cargo bay. And it's very interesting because
05:54it can be deployed very quickly without any modifications needed on the planes. They don't
05:59get sprayed, so there's no corrosion or anything like that. And there are many countries implementing
06:04this solution. For example, in South America, you have Peru, you have Chile. In Europe, for example,
06:09we can mention Romania, which has been using it extensively for years. Or again, Israel,
06:14which also uses it extensively. And in principle, this could even be still be deployed this year.
06:19But to my knowledge, no contact has been made. And in any case, I think we can really at least
06:23run
06:24a trial over the next few years and try to implement it. And the last option would be to rent
06:29more
06:29helicopters or small planes, adapted crop dusting aircraft. But let's be clear, even if we had done all
06:36that, given the scale of the fires this year, it wouldn't have dramatically changed the situation.
06:41Because overall, structurally, we lack water bombing aircraft, and there are no other large-scale
06:47solutions. And now, that brings me to these accusations that I find unfair against civil
06:53security, against the state, against national resources. First, it's about buying foreign planes.
06:59For example, the Beriav-200 was tested in Italy, Portugal, Greece, and Israel. No one wanted it.
07:07Quite simply because it has low accuracy in its drops, its fuel consumption is excessive. In fact,
07:13it hasn't even been certified outside of Russia. And in any case, if we had bought this plane, well,
07:17its maintenance is already a disaster. But on top of that, the engines are Ukrainian,
07:22so there are no spare parts available right now. And the countries that bought it,
07:25like Algeria and Azerbaijan, don't have enough spare parts. It's an aircraft they've completely
07:31forgotten about. Next, in China, you have the AG-600. As for that one, there are only a few units
07:37which are operated only within the country. It's not certified outside of China, and it's not even
07:42offered for export. So for now, it really looks more like Chinese publicity than a real solution.
07:48And the last option is the Japanese Shinmiwa. Now, that's simply a seaplane dedicated to search and
07:54rescue at sea. It was produced in only nine units starting about 20 years ago. No aircraft is
08:00certified for firefighting. And no operational test campaign has taken place. So these foreign
08:06solutions should simply be forgotten. Stop talking about them. They don't exist. So there is a Canadian
08:13solution left to replace the Canadair, which exists today. It's the DHC-515 because it was bought by
08:20to Haviland, Canada. Now it's called the DHC-515. And now the question is about setting up the industrial
08:28production line, because you should know that this aircraft stopped being produced more than 20 years
08:32ago. And to restart the production line, obviously orders are needed from all over the world. But the
08:38supply chain also needs to be restarted and the production line needs to be relaunched. And what the
08:43Canadians want, because they know very well that there might be 400 planes that could be sold,
08:47is for this to be a dual line to produce Canadairs and also to restart the production of the Q400.
08:53That means if this is financed by the European Union, we are buying Canadian planes. We are going to
08:59create a competitor to ATR, the world's leading turboprop aircraft manufacturer, ATR. So if we buy
09:05Canadian, we are subsidizing the destruction of jobs in a French civil aircraft manufacturer. And
09:11obviously, we also prevent ourselves from being able to develop the national industry,
09:15because there are national solutions that I will talk to you about right after.
09:19But in any case, we are waiting for two other planes in 2028. But objectively, the timeline is
09:24not very credible, because industrially, the Canadians are not ready. And then there are two other units
09:29expected in 2032 and 2033, except that by that time, we will have national solutions, including for
09:36amphibious planes. And so logically, it makes more sense to switch to other types of aircraft.
09:41So what can we expect now? What decisions need to be made quickly? The first is to sign multi-year
09:48contracts with the small AT-800-2S and helicopters to avoid having to rent them temporarily. That gives
09:55us visibility on the actual capacity. It allows us to smooth out the prices. We know how much we're
10:00going to pay, so we have clear budgets and an expected level of efficiency. The second is to order at
10:06least
10:06two A400M kits to be able to turn them into water bombers, provided once again that the Air Force
10:12also has the necessary number of planes. The third solution, really, I think all of this adds up,
10:18is to go with Kai Lim. To be able to put it, for example, on Hercules C-130 on CASA,
10:23on A400M,
10:24to be able to secure it like that. Dozens and dozens of tons of these retardant containers that have
10:28proven themselves in several countries, including in terms of price in Europe. And above all,
10:33we need to act right away. To place an order for the two national projects that are supported both
10:37by the National Federation of Firefighters and by the Entente Vallable. The Entente Vallable is the
10:43organization that will approve civil security equipment in the same way that the Directorate
10:47of Armaments, the DGA, approves military equipment. The first one, you know it because I'm involved with
10:53them, so I really believe in it, and have for years and years. It's called Kepler-72. The goal is,
10:59you take an ATR, a regional transport aircraft, and you convert it into a water bomber. The project
11:05is progressing well. Please see the video I made recently with the founder. But in addition,
11:11since then, 10 kits have been directly ordered by Corsica Technic, and we now know that the company
11:17Lassia will provide an ATR-72 so that it can be converted. This will really allow the certification
11:22of the aircraft to be validated as early as next year, so that the plane will be operational for the
11:272028 fire season. A fundraising campaign is underway to finish this project, with many firefighters
11:33participating and urging others to join. I'll put the link in the comments of this video if you also
11:38want to take concrete action to support a real French industrial project that will be completed,
11:43and one that is truly awaited by firefighters in the field. The second project that checks all these
11:49boxes is the one called Inero. Inero is a real amphibious water bomber aircraft, which has
11:55partnerships with Airbus, that's pretty impressive, and with Oneira, which is also quite something,
12:00and has already managed to raise over 100 million euros. So it's really a very serious project,
12:05knowing that to fully develop the aircraft, including certification and industrialization,
12:10it requires 1 billion euros. So we're still at the beginning. And today, what's important is to move on to
12:16actually making a purchase? Because if you go ahead and make a purchase, logically, well, you stop having
12:22trouble raising funds. Your project will move forward at the planned pace. And you actually have
12:26Kepler 72s, converted ATR 72s, which will be available as early as 2028, and you really have the Inero,
12:34which will be available in 2032-2033. So exactly at the same time, we're expecting the Canadair,
12:40which, on top of that, will be from a previous generation. Here, we're really talking about a completely
12:45new aircraft. The Canadair is an aircraft that's been improved with a new modernization suite,
12:50and so on, but we're really not on the same level of technical sophistication.
12:54Then there are other projects at different stages of development. For example, there's the issue of
12:59drones. I'm convinced that one day we'll have drones to complement helicopters and so on. And there's a
13:04startup called Daedalus that's planning a drone that will carry one ton or 1,200 liters of water and can
13:10be deployed. There's a fundraising round underway. So maybe its first flight for the prototype could
13:16happen within two years. So we still have to wait a little bit. Then there's Positive Aviation, which
13:21you've already seen on the channel. I've talked about it on the channel. It's a company that also
13:26wants to convert ATR 72s, but not to make planes that land at refill bases, but to make planes that
13:31scoop up water. And for that, it requires adding floats. So it's really a very, very big technical
13:36challenge. But if the technical feasibility is demonstrated, it could be an excellent solution
13:41for an amphibious plane, even faster than the Inero, since it would be available as early as 2029
13:46and at a lower price, since here we're talking about adapting an ATR 72, rather than starting over
13:52with a completely new aircraft with new production lines, dedicated maintenance, and so on.
13:59Then there are other water bomber projects at the European level. There is one in Belgium,
14:04there is one in Italy, but these are much earlier stage projects, even less funded,
14:09much less concrete, with deadlines that are even further away. So these are not solutions.
14:14In short, as you can see, we're not lacking ideas. There are a lot of possibilities.
14:20We definitely missed the boat five or ten years ago when we could have placed orders for these different
14:25systems. There are ideas like converting old planes at the end of their life,
14:30using Airbus A320s and Boeing 747s. Occasionally, it's very good, it's very effective, it provides
14:38support. But if you don't do it on a large-scale assembly line style, and it's just samples like
14:43three planes, here and there in the end, you don't get any economies of scale, you don't have overall
14:48efficiency. And then jet planes, sure, it's good to have an A320, it will help occasionally. But in
14:54reality, the hourly cost is still very high compared to what it's used for as a water bomber.
14:59I'm not even mentioning all the topics around artificial intelligence, satellites, and so on.
15:03I know there are plenty of other projects. I get a lot of emails, a lot of messages about all
15:07that.
15:08And I also want to emphasize something. Here we're talking about the planes, the aviation side.
15:13Obviously, they're not the only ones, but especially the guys on the ground. They're the ones who put out
15:18the fires. They complement each other. You don't put out a fire with just water bombers. It's still
15:23the people on the ground who work, who suffer, who die, and they absolutely need our support too.
15:27We have to. By the way, you can also get involved with the volunteer firefighters. There are plenty
15:32of people out there who help as well. So we also need to think about that aspect. Not all the
15:37resources
15:37should go to the air component. Unfortunately, the needs are increasing, forest fires are increasing,
15:43heat waves are getting worse and worse. So we need both aerial and ground resources
15:47that are up to these new demands. And then we also need to learn to get used to giving up
15:52some
15:52comforts, to cut down trees when necessary, and so on. You know the full story, and I recommend
15:58the links on these topics. They're quite interesting. Prevention remains the top priority. But in any case,
16:04we're not just sitting around. Things are moving forward. My friends in security, I'm always in touch with
16:09them, and they really have high hopes for the different projects I've mentioned. So right now,
16:14we're working hard to hold on until they arrive. I hope you enjoyed this video, and I'll see you very
16:18soon.
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