EU announces 2024 firefighting fleet

The aircraft will be provided by 10 member states, and will be on hand to support firefighting efforts across Europe this summer.

The fleet includes:

• Greece – one helicopter, two light planes, four medium amphibious planes
• Croatia – two medium amphibious planes
• Italy – two medium amphibious planes, two light planes
• Spain – two medium amphibious planes
• France – one helicopter, four medium amphibious planes
• Sweden – four light planes
• Portugal – two light planes
• Czechia – two helicopters
• Cyprus – two light planes
• Germany – two light planes.

The 2024 fleet represents a slight increase over the one from 2023, in which rescEU commanded 24 fixed-wing aircraft and four helicopters.

The EU also reported that it will strategically place 556 ground-based firefighters from 12 countries across key wildfire locations, in countries such as France, Greece, Portugal, and Spain, to bolster local firefighting efforts.

“As we mark the fifth anniversary of rescEU, it is imperative that we continue strengthening our collective resilience against natural disasters,” said Janez Lenarčič, the European Commissioner for Crisis Management. “The prepositioning of firefighters and the expansion of our aerial firefighting fleet are crucial steps in this endeavor.”

The EU also recently announced the allocation of €600 million for the acquisition of 12 more fixed-wing firefighting aircraft for use by rescEU.