New firefighting helicopters for Nova Scotia
Nova Scotian government has announced plans to purchase four new water-bombing helicopters
The new aircraft will be used to replace the Canadian province’s current, ageing rotory-wing firefighting fleet, which saw extensive use in the record-breaking 2023 wildfire season.
In a statement reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton said that the existing fleet was ‘at the point where they require a lot more maintenance at a lot higher cost’.
The new helicopters will be purchased over the next four years, and will be used for other tasks in addition to firefighting, such as search and rescue (SAR).
They will be funded through contributions from both the Nova Scotian and federal governments, which have each committed nearly CA$13 million over the next five years to the purchase of new firefighting aircraft and equipment.
Rushton also confirmed that the province’s fixed-wing water bombers had a 10-year timeline for replacement.
A second jet was added to Nova Scotia’s Emergency Health Services (EHS) LifeFlight service earlier this year.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at AirMed&Rescue. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector!