Why doesn’t Switzerland have any Canadair aircraft?

Since Sunday morning, the wildfire in Monte Gambarogno has been challenging the firemen due to the strong wind. This morning, given the seriousness of the situation, two Viking Air 415 (also known as Canadair) of the Italian Civil defence departed from Italy to provide support to the Swiss soldiers. In addition to the two aircrafts of the army’s civilian helicopters and the SuperPuma, the two aircrafts capable of transporting and discharging 6 thousand liters of water (the SuperPuma carry 2 thousand liters) are now also in action. The Italian government has 19 Viking Air 415: 14 in service on domestic soil, 2 dedicated to European missions and 3 in rotation maintenance with other aircraft. The question arises immediately from this point: why doesn’t the Swiss Confederation own Canadairs and why does it have to request help from abroad? We asked this question to Bruno Pellandini, an aircraft pilot and a contributor to Corriere del Ticino. In the opinion of Pellandini, this was a strategic issue, determined by the shape of the territory. He explains: «The mountains and valleys that characterize our territory can be reached more accurately with helicopters. Approaching a mountain with an aircraft of that size (the Viking Air 415 is about 20 meters long, 9 meters high and has a wingspan of 28 meters, ed.) is more difficult, not counting that the « bombing « of water is not as effective, because of the territorial structure. The amphibious aircraft is designed to operate at its best in forested and water rich regions. He continues: «In this case they can give support to the helicopters by dumping the water on the ridges of the mountains, so it can then make the waterfall effect, whereas the helicopters can penetrate the valleys and target with more precision». The existence of mountains is not the sole reason why aircraft are not being deployed by the federal government. For the use of seaplanes in Switzerland or for landing in a lake, permission is necessary. The process of obtaining such a permit is complex. For that reason, it is more timely to ask for assistance from Italy. The two Civil Protection aircraft, after unloading the containers, will refuel with water from the Italian part of Lake Maggiore».