The Royal Air Forces deployed two Canadair aircraft and a “Casa” support aircraft, on September 18, 2024 to Monte Real in Portugal, to help the Portuguese authorities fight forest fires in the north of the country, in a joint action also involving Spanish, French and Italian aircraft.
Four crews and a technical team from the Royal Air Force's 3rd Air Base fire-fighting squadron have also been mobilized as part of this mission, which comes in response to a request for support from the country's authorities, according to a statement by the Royal Armed Forces General Staff.
Since 2012, Royal Air Force “Canadair” aircraft have taken part in the fight against forest fires in Spain, Portugal and Italy. In Portugal in particular, where Morocco has intervened for the 3rd time since 2016, Moroccan aircraft carried out around 70 sorties in 230 flight hours during their interventions in 2016 and 2017. Morocco's recurrent participation in the fight against forest fires in Portugal bears witness to the deep ties of solidarity and cooperation between the two countries, covering several areas of common interest, according to the same source.
The Kingdom of Morocco has a large fleet of “Canadair CL415” and “CL215” water bomber aircraft. Since 2011, when the first aircraft were delivered to Morocco, these aircraft have demonstrated their effectiveness in fighting forest fires both inside and outside Morocco.
