Conair announces air tanker conversion milestone

Conair noted that while it has been producing air tankers from Dash 8-400s in 2005, its rate of production has increased substantially in recent years, with “15 converted and delivered in the last four years alone.”

The company added that demand for the aircraft continues to be strong, with “all Dash 8-400AT [air tankers] and Dash 8-400MRE – the multirole variant – being purchased or placed on long-term contract by government agencies.”

Conair reported that the French government alone owns eight Dash 8-400MREs. The aircraft have also seen use in Australia, as well as the US states of Alaska and Washington, and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta.

The government of Saskatchewan, Canada, also ordered two Dash 8-400MREs in 2024, and will receive two Dash 8-400ATs in time for the 2025 fire season.

“In the last four years, we have seen demand surge, driven by increasing numbers of wildfires and fires that are more extreme,” said Michael Benson, Director, Business Development at Conair. “Jurisdictions that needed to complement their current fleet with a new tool, are doing so. And agencies that haven’t yet secured a fleet of their own aircraft, are making inquiries.”

Bertrand Lamaison, Director, Engineering and Customer Support at Conair added: “In 2025 we plan to deliver three additional Dash 8 airtankers for the fire season. It takes a long time to engineer, build, certify and deliver a new airtanker type. We have gone through that period of development and have streamlined our processes to maximize our production efficiency.”

Conair announced the expansion of its in-house non-destructive aircraft testing capabilities earlier this year.