As fundamentals in climate, international politics and commercial realities change, Europe is having to quickly develop a significant wildfire firefighting capability. Paul Kennard examines Europe’s rescUE challenges and plans.

2025 is still less than halfway through, and yet, in many ways, it appears to be an epoch-shaping year.  Major, global, tectonic shifts in politics, security, industry and social and societal 'norms' appear to be underway.  Sometimes they are seismic events (the current US administration's trade and security spat with the EU for example), while others are a lower level, yet persistent, set of background tremors - occasionally ramping up to the scale of a full-scale earthquake, or serious after-shock.

Wildfires have been a background tremor, growing in intensity over recent years and, arguably, becoming a full blown environmental, societal and political earthquake during the staggeringly destructive and intense fires that raged in and around the Greater Los Angeles area in January of this year.  The timing could not have been more effective; the transfer of power between two administrations with almost polar differences in their approach to the role of the federal government, international relations, and security; essentially a stark dichotomy in their viewpoint of the US' role in global affairs. 

Whatever your views on climate science, and the impact of man-made byproducts on its rate of change, it is beyond doubt that the world is warming.  This warming effect is having several impacts upon the Aerial Fire Fighting industry, as it reconfigures itself for the growing wildfire threat. 

Firstly, most obviously, prolonged, dry and warm conditions enable fires to start and rapidly grow more readily.  Many operators I speak to used to cast the US 'season' as approximately 4-6 months in duration.  Traditionally, in Southern California for example, although the benign climate makes wildfires a year-round possibility, peak season was generally considered to be June to November, with 'shoulders' in May and December.  The historical contractual mechanism that many Air Attack companies have been placed under at Federal (eg US Forestry Service) or State/County Level, have reflected this.  Such contracts have forced air attack operators to either use their expensive assets and crews for other roles (eg utility, heli-skiing, film work) or move them to other areas in the US 'off season' to ensure they are earning their keep all year round.  When I discussed this with Britt Coulson recently, he suggested the 'old model' is now permanently broken; aside from some forward thinking Counties (such as Ventura County, who in 2023 contracted Coulson's to provide some assets on year-round availability contracts to support the Southern California Quick Reaction Force (QRF) for a two-year period), the Business Plan of six months in the US, then six months 'other work' no longer, ahem, holds water.  He explained that some of the Company's assets had been on a routine of six months covering the US Fire Season, a 'rest' maintenance period, then movement to another country, often in the southern hemisphere (increasingly Australia), for a three month stint fighting fires in their summer, before shipping back to the US, a further maintenance and 'reset' period,  and then crew work-up flying to be ready to assume the US commitment again.

Secondly, as the planet warms, more areas are becoming increasingly hard for humans to survive, let alone eke out a living.  It is a significant cause of the mass migrations the planet is currently seeing.  Setting aside the political and social impacts, the need to house, clothe, feed and support rapid population growth in some areas is encouraging the building of homes and infrastructure in areas previously considered either at too great a risk of wildfire, or, crucially, as being kept historically clear as some form of firebreak or prepared area for fire fighters to use as they retreat.

What Britt, and others, are now seeing is a deadly combination of building in hitherto fire-zoned areas and the US season extending.  Moreover, crucially, fire seasons around the world are also stretching in length and increasing in severity.  As a former Chinook pilot, I can attest that it's a truly magnificent platform, but even a Chinook cannot be in two hemispheres at the same time.  The nomadic model of companies following the fire season around the globe to keep their assets and people busy and profitable is starting to crumble.

Hence why the EU is starting to get serious.

At the recent, sold out, Aerial Fire Fighting conference held in Bordeaux, France, one of the presentations was by rescEU, the European Commission organisation that includes fighting wildfires as part of its broader resilience and disaster response remit.  Recent years have seen a sharp increase in the 'calls for help' made to the EU central body, leading to the EU Civil Protection Mechanism being significantly upgraded and recast as rescEU.  Alongside wildfire suppression, rescEU also offers Medical Evacuation provision, significant stockpiles and expertise in the event of a Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear (CBRN) incident (including detection, protection and decontamination equipment), emergency shelters and power systems for post incident recovery, and a logistics and transportation capability. 

From a rescEU perspective, the 'turning point' for the EU came in 2017.  Over one hundred citizens in Portugal were killed by wildfires that year, and, tellingly, ten out of eighteen requests for EU assistance 'were not totally fulfilled'.  The following year, wildfires claimed the lives of over 100 people in Greece in just three tragic hours.  The existing provision relied upon national capacities - which varied wildly between member nations depending on their relative wealth and exposure to wildfire risk, the offer of ad hoc support, and the European Civil Protection Pool (ECPP).  However, the depth of the ECCP 'pool' was decidedly 'shallow'.  In 2018 it consisted of a grand total of four firefighting aircraft (Canadairs) and 13 ground response teams.  As the United Nations office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) noted in 2019, 'Forest fires do not wait' for nations to increase capacity.

Something needed to be done - and quickly.

The rescEU intuitive was described by the then EU Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, as:

"a concrete response, a European response, to help our many citizens who face the threat of natural disasters. We were all shocked, as Europeans, when many people lost their lives in the last years due to forest fires from Portugal to Greece. European solidarity must be about protecting citizens and helping each other in difficult times. rescEU offers practical solutions and puts European solidarity firmly into action."

Although primacy remains with the national authorities, rescEU was established to provide an 'on call' safety net in times of crisis.  The organisation was created with two clear phases.  An interim period, co-opting some national assets while adding more capability as budget allowed, and then, in the 2026-30 timeframe, acquire and sustain a fully established and enduring capability.  The uplift was felt immediately.  From the legacy fleet of four Canadairs, the initial roster of rescEU committed assets included seven aircraft (from Croatia, France, Italy and Spain) and six helicopters from Sweden.  Additionally, these assets were trained, tested and assessed via a series of exercises - and elements of the Copernicus Satellite System assigned to be available to map wildfires when they broke out.  The 'permanent rescEU fleet' will see new rotary wing platforms start to be delivered next year, with a dozen fixed wing aircraft following on, aiming for a Full Operating Capability (FOC) by 2030.

Until then, the EU will continue to call upon a pool of national assets that are assigned by a number of member countries to boost local aircraft capability.  The global trend towards longer and more severe fire seasons is not sparing Europe.  In 2023 the organisation responded to its stiffest challenge to date.  The Greek wildfires of 2023, as well as the human cost, destroyed nearly 100,000 hectares of countryside.  The 'season total' for Europe in 2023 was 500,000 hectares lost due to wildfires - an area equivalent to twice the size of Luxembourg - with major outbreaks also occurring in Portugal, Spain and Italy.  Last year, rescEU could call upon an assigned pool of 28 platforms: four light aircraft (AT-802s), 10 'light scoopers' (Firebosses), 10 'Medium Scoopers' (Canadairs) and four helicopters (2x UH60, 1x Erikson S-64 and a Eurocopter).  The rationale for the relatively low number of helicopters seems to be that most EU member nations have access to utility helicopters from within its military and para-republic forces which can be rapidly re-assigned to fire fighting duties - albeit equipped with a bucket rather than the more complex and expensive, though more efficient, tank system.  Where rescEU make a huge difference is with the fleet of dedicated fixed wing air attack optimised aircraft.

To ensure a rapid and coherent response to wildfire outbreak, rescEU stands up a wildfire cell in the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) between June and September - the peak season for European fires.  The 'Wildfire Cell' is staffed by ERCC Duty Officers and has access to a number of national and scientific experts.  Being in the northern hemisphere, of course, these dates are broadly in line with that experienced in the US, and certainly covering much of the California season, making it very hard for aircraft to be 'double hatted' and committed to both continents.  Many in the industry are nervous when they see US assets take a European contract during these periods; while it is understandable that operators need to extract the maximum return on their expensive investments, in an era of lengthening seasons and greater severity, not to mention continuing encroachment in to wildfire risk areas, there is a risk that the next 'Giga Fire' may not be adequately covered. if some of the 'home team' are 'playing away'.  The clear 'America First' policy of the new US Administration, and a number of Firefighting initiatives currently being proposed, suggest that US assets in the EU may well be in short supply in the future.

The EU was likely aware that counting on 'hiring in' US assets was going to only be a short term solution.  While some operators have, and continue, to migrate aircraft across the equator (for example between Australia and Europe) the Global trend is making this harder to adequately resource. Inevitably, it's asking questions of governments - and, as with most questions, those questions come with a price tag attached to the answers.
Most of the European countries impacted by wildfires are among the EU's poorest nations.  Portugal and Greece have been struggling economically for a number of years and lack the funding to fully fight their fires 'in house'.  The likes of rescEU are therefore critical.

The re-equipment program for rescEU is budgeted at some €700m between 2021 and 2027.  As noted earlier, the delivery of the fleet of 12 Canadairs doesn't start until 2028 due to the lead times required, and the final aircraft isn't currently expected until 2030.  The rest of the 2030 enduing rescEU fleet will be a remaining pair of Firebosses and five Medium Helicopters (potentially dedicated firefighting versions of the UH-60) expected to start arriving as early as next year.

That leaves a gap between now and 2030 that will rely on nations continuing to offer aircraft into the central tasking 'pot' or contracting in additional capacity - if it can be found.

The potentially Billion Euro question is, however, will the proposed rescEU fleet of 2030 be enough to plug the gaps in national capability?  If the Australian season continues to lengthen, and Australian politicians elect to pay for, effectively, a year-round capability, it will hamper efforts to boost airframe numbers during peak season.  The same, obviously, has to be said for US assets.  When compared to both the North American and Australian air attack 'rosters', Europe does seem to have a number of potential shortfalls.

Firstly, with the notable exception of the small-scale use of the S-64, the helicopters are all medium class.  Yes, a Black Hawk with a tank system delivers a capable 'bang for your buck' per water cycle, but there remain few of them in number.  The helicopter aspects of firefighting seem to remain the preserve of military / police utility helicopters and hired-in commercial machines hauling water in buckets.  Columbia Helicopters has recently renewed its contract with the Turkish government to deploy four of its Chinooks to the country for the fire season, but overall, the focus is on contracting for smaller aircraft.  Of course, the Chinook is a staple of many European militaries - Spain, The Netherlands, Greece, Italy and Turkey all operate the aircraft, and the UK has very recently renewed its Chinook firefighting capability (which the author used in anger in The Falkland Islands in 2000 trying to put out a fire in a minefield...) to backfill the retiring Puma HC2's in Cyprus as a stop gap until the H145s arrive.

I must say, anybody who gets used to a Chinook dropping water is going to be massively disappointed when a H145 turns up with its comparative 'thimble of water' in the near future....

The other notable missing piece is the provision of Very Large Air Tankers (VLATs).

The Canadairs seem to be the 'go-to' fixed wing platform, and their flexibility as 'scoopers' and manoeuvrability in some challenging terrain doubtless offer operational benefits, but the lack of serious 'punch' may prove to be shortsighted.  It would appear that some in Europe are waking up to this; Airbus have been recently demonstrating a roll-on firefighting kit for their large A400M tactical transport aircraft, which is in service with the UK, German, French and Spanish militaries.  By comparison to the CL-215's approximately 5000 litre water capacity, the A400M can be re-roled as a firefighting aircraft in approximately 3 hours to deliver over 20 000 litres.  Clearly, the comparative water cycle will depend on the proximity to water for the CL-215 and an airfield for the A400M, but the ability of the larger aircraft to carry more and fly faster, with impressive agility for an aircraft of its size, brings significant 'punch per pass' and could be extremely useful in knocking down smaller fires quickly and containing larger conflagrations.  However, the A400Ms are busy tactical airlifters, and unless a major wildfire threatens a substantial population centre, or areas of historical or scientific importance, it's hard to see how many would be 'chopped' to the control of rescEU for fire suppression duties.  There's also the question of how many kits will be bought, by which nations, and if they are prepared to invest in their crews training for this specialist task.  The site of an active fireground, with all the attendant hazards and potential confusions, is not the place for a non-specialist crew to learn 'on the job'; they would be at risk themselves and a hazard to other crews both in the air and on the ground.

VLATs are starting to appear on the 'thought radar' in Europe.  The 747 Supertanker made its operational debut in Spain as long ago as 2009, but the idea, until recently, hasn't caught on.  There are now a number of studies underway looking at how surplus Airbus A330s could be converted for the air attack role.  The airframe has already proven its inherent adaptability - it's a very popular option as a combination tanker/transport for many militaries around the world - so it's a logical base platform for conversion to a VLAT.  Most of the plans currently revealed intimate that the aircraft's flexibility would be retained, with the aircraft still be able to carry up to 100 passengers with a 9000-gallon air drop system fitted.  With the water drop kit removed, some 250 passengers could be carried, as well as medical and other disaster relief cargo.  Might a small fleet of, perhaps, four to six A330 'Combi' firefighter/transports provide a valuable core capability to rescEU?  It would be capable of moving specialist teams and equipment rapidly around Europe during the fire season, then become part of the water suppression team.  Moreover, given the increasing global nature of the wildfire issue, such a fleet would be capable of deploying globally in short order - providing the EU with a powerful diplomatic tool to influence countries that, might otherwise, look to the US or elsewhere.  As the planet's geo-political plates continue to shift, such a 'force for good' may prove astonishingly useful in terms of international relations.

As for now, rescEU remains in that anticipated 'interim' period.  It relies upon platforms and people assigned to it in the event of a crisis.  In time, it will stand on its own two feet, ready to support the 'home teams' in wildfire struck nations.   

However, there is a genuine chance that it will need further assets - perhaps including VLATs - to keep up with the worrying trend of longer wildfire seasons of greater severity.