The “crime” with the Canadair

• – Greece has many aging firefighting aircraft
• – Why did the government not take care of buying new ones?
• – The missed opportunity from Japan
• – The unexplained transfers of critical technical personnel experienced in firefighting aircraft maintenance

By Paris Karvounopoulos

Flying with a Canadair firefighting aircraft is often more risky than flying with a fighter aircraft. The outdated “old” technology aircraft have to “dive” into rugged ravines to put out fires. This often proves fatal. Just as fatal was the flight of the Canadair (CL-215) in Karystos…

Every year, at every big fire, everyone looks to the sky. In Greece, for some inexplicable reason, we have associated the extinguishing of fires exclusively with aerial means. Although all the experts have explained that aerial fire-fighting resources are really useful at the start of a fire, every time that there is a fire, the debate is limited to how many fire-fighting aircraft we have. We have a lot compared to other European countries. 17 Canadairs now after the loss of the CL-215 at Karystos. A satisfactory number if all were always available, but this is not the case since they are hardly ever available…

Although this year Hellenic Aerospace Industry had completed on time the maintenance of the aircraft it had undertaken to maintain, the malfunctions to the old aircraft – over 40 years old – keep many of them grounded. Air Force technicians are the early heroes of the air firefighting cause.

In tough summers, like this year, they are called upon to work at Formula 1 speed to get as many firefighting aircraft as possible available for flying. Heroes too are the pilots who are called upon to pilot the Canadairs with the wire ropes. And yet for many years, when partisan passions were much more intense than they are today, a transfer to firefighting aircraft was the “punishment” for disliked pilots and mechanics.

Even today, however, it seems that these passions are not over. A few hours before the crash of the firefighting aircraft in Karystos, it was announced that experienced CL-415 aircraft mechanics were being transferred for no reason. More than 10 mechanics are being removed from the 113 Battle Wing where the Canadair CL-415 firefighters are stationed!

More than ten engineers are leaving the 113 Battle Wing (CL-415), leaving an unfilled gap and only one is coming, and that too after serving on a borderline island. The unexplained removals are “blamed” on the military office of the MoD.

These removals are bound to cause “turbulence” in the Air Force’s firefighting aircraft support system. When experienced personnel in this area are transferred, there are bound to be repercussions.

Which “new aircraft” were promised by the Greek PM

Hours before the tragedy with the CL-215 in Karystos, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had visited Elefsina where firefighting aircraft are stationed. He acknowledged the great difficulties faced by the pilots due to the age of the aircraft and promised them that “soon we will have new aircraft”. Where from?

New Canadair aircraft are not currently on the market. The manufacturer Canadair stopped producing the aircraft in 2015. The manufacturing rights have been purchased by Viking Air, but in order to start a new production line, the company is waiting to gather orders for at least 25 aircraft. Even if we put in signatures tomorrow morning, we won’t see a plane for 3 years at the earliest.

The proposal from Japan

There was a serious proposal to renew the fleet of firefighting aircraft, but the current government ignored it. It is unknown why.

In 2017, the then-head of the General Directorate of Armaments, Vice Admiral (retired) Kyriakides visited Tokyo. The Japanese showed him the ShinMaywa US-2 amphibious Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) aircraft, which was originally designed as a Search & Rescue (SAR) aircraft.

The Japanese have been using this aircraft in their navy since 2007 for search and rescue operations. However, there is also a “version” of a firefighting aircraft with a single modification: one fuel tank is replaced with a 15-ton water tank, divided into eight (8) sections and with eight corresponding water-dropping ports.

This modification has the effect of reducing the maximum range of the original SAR version of the aircraft from 4,600 km to 2,300 km. The aircraft is powered by four Rolls-Royce AE 2100J turboprop engines with a power of 4,592 hp each.

Compared with the Canadair and the Russian Beriev, ShinMaywa highlights two main characteristics that are superior:

•  – 15-ton tank (Canadairs CL-415s have 5.5-ton tanks, while the Russian Berievs Ve-200 have 12-ton tanks.
•  – From landing on a water surface with a particularly high wave height: take-off with a wave height of 2,8 m, landing with a wave height of 3,1 m (corresponding wave heights for the Canadair CL-415: 0,7 m and for the Beriev Be-200: 1,2 m).

The plane was suitable, but we had the usual problem. We had no money.

In 2018, when the Japanese came to Greece to visit the Hellenic Aerospace Industry and 112 Battle Wing in Elefsina, the head of the GENERAL DIRECTORATE FOR DEFENSE INVESTEMENTS AND ARMAMENTS (GDDIA) had a plan that put the Europeans in the game. He presented it to his counterpart in the Government of Japan, Mr. Yoshiyuki Suzuki, who had no objections.

The plan provided for the Europeans to buy or lease 8 to 12 aircraft, in the first phase. Greece could benefit from this by permanently stationing up to six aircraft at a Greek base, not necessarily in Elefsina. There was a thought that the aircraft could be used in winter for search and rescue and in summer for firefighting.

The Japanese were very positive about working with Greece because of their extensive experience in firefighting. It would be a great advertisement for their aircraft.

Discussions were progressing very well and in July 2018, Bloomberg wrote:

“Japan will begin negotiations with Greece to sell its US-2 rescue aircraft in a deal that would mark the country’s first defense equipment sale,” the Nikkei newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources.

Greece has expressed interest in buying amphibious aircraft made by Japan’s ShinMaywa, costing about 10 billion yen each, to replace its dozens of old firefighting aircraft, the newspaper said. These Japanese aircraft will be equipped with water tanks before being sold to Greece.

But the proposal, which looked like it would have a chance, for unknown reasons, did not proceed after 2019.