. The Greek fire service currently has 10 Canadair CL-215 aircraft produced over 40 years ago and seven Canadair CL-415 aircraft over 20 years old, as well as 19 Polish-made PZL-Mielec M-18 aircraft. However, out of 36 aircraft, only 19 can actually be used in firefighting, which is not enough to extinguish the severe wildfires that hit Greece every year. During the fire season, Greece usually leases about 50 additional aircraft.
"We were pleased to witness the signing by Greece and the Canadian Commercial Corporation for Greece to purchase and acquire seven state-of-the-art DHC-515 firefighting aircraft. These aircraft will help fight devastating forest fires that are increasingly ravaging areas of Southern Europe," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Greek counterpart, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said in a joint statement released on Sunday.
Greece will become the first country to procure new firefighting aircraft worth 360 million euros ($389.3 million) from Canada, the Greek prime minister said ahead of the signing ceremony.
"We have agreed to work together to find ways to deepen our partnership, with a focus on emergency management and preparedness, and adapting to the impacts of climate change in the face of increasingly frequent natural disasters, including droughts, floods, and wildfires," the statement read.
Athens will receive two airplanes in 2027, one aircraft in 2028 and 2029 each, and three in 2030.