Slovenia will acquire an aviation firefighting fleet
The purchase would include a medium-heavy helicopter and up to six smaller fixed-wing aircraft. The aircraft would enable the ministry to establish a dedicated aerial firefighting capability, and their acquisition would be supported by the European Union’s (EU) rescEU aerial firefighting mechanism.
The helicopter will be used primarily in rescEU aerial firefighting operations, and outside the wildfire season it will be used for aid and rescue in Slovenia itself.
As part of the planned fleet, the Slovenian government has expressed interest in leasing two Airtractor AT-802 Fire Boss amphibious aircraft.
The fleet would be based at the airport Cerklje ob Krka, and in the case of international operations, the planes will be moved to bases closer to the fire site. The airport will also serve as a fleet hub for staff training and aircraft maintenance.
The rescEU 2022 firefighting fleet consisted of 12 fixed-wing aircraft and one helicopter provided by six EU member states: Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Spain and Sweden. This is expected rapidly expand to 22 aircraft and four helicopters from summer 2023, after the approval of the EU budget worth 170 million euros.