YouTube video by CAL FIRE TV

Firefighting agencies across Canada have 10 new aircraft they can use as the 2026 wildfire season gets underway.

Aviation News – Game Aerospace’s GB2 firefighting aircraft completed its first flight in Bentonville, Arkansas, on September 23, 2026, marking the start of flight testing for a new single-engine airtanker designed to carry 1,200 gallons of water or retardant. The prototype was flown from Louise Thaden Field by Philipp Steinbach, Game Aerospace’s CEO, co-founder and test pilot. The company said the aircraft performed as expected during the maiden flight and completed the planned evaluations.

Aviation News – French aviation startup Positive Aviation, led by former Airbus engineer Jonathan Beck, is developing converted turboprop aircraft to challenge aging Canadair water-bombers in combating European wildfires. The initiative emerges as record-breaking summer heatwaves and severe droughts incinerated nearly 500,000 hectares across Europe this year, driving urgent demand for modernized aerial firefighting fleets. Operating out of the historic Hangar 16 in Toulouse—the birthplace of Concorde—engineers are utilizing a disused…

Aviation News – EHang has unveiled the first EH216-F electric vertical take-off and landing firefighting aircraft, marking a key step in advancing low-altitude emergency rescue capabilities in China. The aircraft rolled off the assembly line at EHang’s Low-Altitude Emergency Rescue Equipment Headquarters in Beijing’s Fangshan District. The milestone coincides with the first anniversary of EHang’s strategic cooperation with the local government, highlighting a government–enterprise partnership aimed at developing advanced emergency response aviation systems.

Aviation News – French aerospace startup Kepplair announced on May 28, 2026, that it has successfully secured its first prototype aircraft to begin testing a specialized firefighting variant of the ATR 72-600 turboprop. This milestone advances the development of modern, highly efficient regional aerial firefighting tools to combat increasingly severe global wildfires. The vital airframe comes courtesy of ACIA-Aero Capital, a prominent aircraft leasing firm specializing in regional aircraft and support services.

Aviation News – Lower Saxony-based Total Aeronautical Services GmbH is restoring two former Luftwaffe Transall C-160D military transport aircraft into specialized firefighting planes to address Germany's critical shortage of aerial disaster relief assets. This historic conversion marks a major breakthrough for European wildfire response as severe summer blazes continue to threaten ecosystems across the continent. ​As climate shifts trigger increasingly severe wildfires throughout Europe, Germany has long suffered from a distinct lack of heavy-capacity water bombers.

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This Air Base Protects Over 1 Million Acres From Wildfire — Take a Look Inside (Full episode on YouTube — link in bio) #aviationroundup #californiafires #firefightingaircraft #aviationlovers...

CAL FIRE S-70i Firehawk #helicopter doing some awesome drops! #aviationroundup #californiafires #firefightingaircraft #aviationlovers #aviationdaily #aviationgeek #firepilots #aviation...

Aviation News – Coulson Aviation has announced the launch of a Boeing 767 Very Large Air Tanker (VLAT) program aimed at replacing aging aerial firefighting aircraft. The move responds to the grounding of legacy platforms and addresses growing global demand for modern, high-capacity firefighting solutions. The program was unveiled on 22 December 2025, with Coulson Aviation positioning the Boeing 767 as a sustainable successor to VLAT aircraft nearing the end of their service life.