It comes from above, like a miracle from the sky, it falls over fires that try to devour the green and the dry, eat the living and the dead. Airplanes that most countries do not own, Morocco acquired ten years ago on a royal initiative.
These are “Kanadir” aircraft, acquired by Morocco in 2011, and developed expertise in their use and maintenance, so they are now participating in extinguishing forest fires, whether in Morocco or in neighboring countries within the framework of close international cooperation.
Morocco is included in the list of only 20 countries around the world that own the modern version of the “CL415” Canadir aircraft, and the king gave instructions to conclude a new deal to buy three more aircraft, the price of which has been paid and delivery will start from next year.
Characteristics of “Kanadir”
Since the start of the season of fires, the name “Kanadir” has become more famous than a well-known fire. It is known by both the old and the young. It recently participated in extinguishing the fires of Chefchaouen, but few know the advantages of this huge machine. Its first feature is that its upper half is an airplane, while the lower half is like a steamship.
Captain Nawfal Jundi, co-pilot on the “Kanadir” plane, spoke to Hespress about its advantages, saying that it is “a plane distinguished by its powerful engine, which facilitates its flight at low altitudes, and allows it to maneuver near the affected areas, whose terrain is often difficult.” It is difficult for ground teams to reach them.”
One of the advantages of the plane is that its tanks, which have a capacity of more than six thousand liters, are charged in less than 12 seconds by descending above the surface of the water, to move very quickly to the place of the fire and the flow of water in one go that allows extinguishing the fire even in the most difficult places in terms of terrain. Wild teams can't get to it.
Strategy for Extinguishing Forest Fires
A special strategy adopted by the Kingdom to extinguish forest fires, in which several sectors intervene, of which the Royal Air Force is a part.
Colonel Rashid Al-Ghanawi, Commander of the Fire Fighting Squadron of the Royal Armed Forces, spoke to Hespress about the way his homogeneous and harmonious team works, starting with a meeting during which the necessary directives are received, then drawing up an intervention plan and discussing everything that should be paid attention to before flying towards the place where the flames intensified. , to return to the starting point after successfully completing the mission.
Al-Ghanawi said: “The Royal Armed Forces participate in many missions of benefit and public interest, and among the missions in which we participate there is fighting forest fires, in order to preserve forest wealth, in compliance with the royal orders of His Majesty.”
Al-Ghanawi explained that the intervention of the Royal Air Force's "Canadir" water bombers is in accordance with the main national plan to protect and combat forest fires, a plan that includes many sectors, including the Royal Gendarmerie, civil protection, water, forests, and local authorities of the Ministry of Interior and the Office. National Airports and Meteorology, and others.
According to the action plan, the fires are divided into four levels according to their severity, and the entry of “Kanadir” aircraft starts from the second level.
Al-Ghanawi explained that his team cares about three pillars, "the speed of implementation, coordination between all stakeholders, and the efficiency of the pilot crews."
The colonel spoke about the importance of the spread of dams throughout the Kingdom, especially near forests, saying: “It is another characteristic that we have in the Kingdom of Morocco, which enables us to carry out rapid interventions and many frequencies to fight fires.”
And he added: “Our priority is always to protect citizens, their property, and the interventionists, whose number is large, especially in major fires, and this is what we achieve thanks to the high experience and technical know-how gained by the crews over ten years of intervention in many regions in Morocco and abroad.”
Technical tasks
Ten years ago, the country formed a technical staff to watch over the maintenance and repair of "Kanadir" aircraft.
The technical side has a major role in the efficiency of the operation of the "Kanadir" aircraft, especially as they fly at low altitude amidst the smoke of fires, in full compliance with the applicable national and international aviation safety standards and laws.
Hespress met some members of this technical staff and examined part of the maintenance tasks. Nabil Al-Dhawi, head of the "Kanadir" maintenance department at the third air base, confirmed that behind the efforts to put out the fires, "a technical team accompanying them throughout the period that the operation takes."
Al-Dhawi stated that this team consists of technical personnel from the Royal Air Force, whose role is to ensure immediate and continuous readiness of aircraft, through a set of interventions, such as examining aircraft systems and equipment before and after each rapid intervention to assess and repair incoming defects, and rehabilitate defects. After every day of work by monitoring vital devices such as engines and navigation systems.
Badr Qazih, one of the technicians Hespress met, said that their main task “is to ensure maintenance and testing of equipment and devices, such as the water filling and emptying system, in order to preserve the safety of the aircraft, as well as immediate intervention in the event of a sudden malfunction or malfunction.”
As for the outcome of the “Kanadir” aircraft’s interventions, Lieutenant Colonel Abd al-Salam al-Jouti, a trained pilot on the “Kanadir” plane, explained that it participated during the current season in combating 15 fires in various regions of the Kingdom, with more than 100 sorties and 600 shooting operations. .
The value of one "Canadir" aircraft is about 25 million euros, equivalent to 265 million Moroccan dirhams. In addition to Morocco, Canada, France, South Korea, Spain, the United States of America, Portugal, Colombia, India and Mexico are available on this type of aircraft.