Aircraft

The air forces of Slovenia, Croatia, Turkey and Germany sent specialised firefighting aircraft to the Republic of Macedonia in response to an urgent request by NATO's Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre for help to put out a wave of forest fires ravaging the country's woodland in July.

Following the Macedonian appeal,  Croatia sent one of its four Bombardier CL-415 fire-fighting aircraft (serial number 866, c/n 2046), operating with Croatian Air Force's 855 firefighting squadron from its home base at Zemunik, near Zadar. The aircraft operated with two crews plus four mechanics.
 

© IGOR BOZINOVSKI Macedonian Air Force's Mi-17

Slovenia's Air Force sent a Bell 412EP (serial H2-35) helicopter that arrived Petrovec air force base in Macedonia on 24 July at 22.00 local time after a ferry flight from Brnik air base. The Bell was equipped with water dropping device, the firefighting Bamby Bucket.

Canadair CL-215 firefighting aircraft (registered I-SRME) and operated by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality arrived from Turkey on 25 July with another Turkish flagged helicopter which arrived later in the day.

Turkish flagged helicopter was a Bamby Bucket-equipped Kamov Ka-32AO helicopter (registered LZ-MRK), owned by Skorpion Air from Bulgaria.

© IGOR BOZINOVSKI Germany's contingent of NATO-led international Kosovo Force (KFOR), operated the Heeresflieger UH-1D 71

The build up of a firefighting fleet continued with two Bell UH-1D Huey helicopters (serials 71+36 and 72+46), part of Germany's contingent of NATO-led international Kosovo Force (KFOR), which arrived from its base in the neighbouring UN-controlled south Serbian province of Kosovo.

Meanwhile, the Canadair CL-215 left for Turkey on 27 July, leaving behind its Ka-32AO helicopter to continue its work to extinguish the forest fires.

© IGOR BOZINOVSKI Slovenian Air Force's Bell 412EP

The Macedonian Air Force was put into action with two Mi-17 helicopters, one of which called for the return from Bosnia and Herzegovina where it serves a EUFOR mission to be deployed in the effort.

© IGOR BOZINOVSKI Bulgaria's Bamby Bucket-equipped Kamov Ka-32AO

Macedonia used its UH-1H and Zlin-242 aircraft as well as the Macedonian Police Bell 206B-3, Bell 212 and Bell 412EP helicopters normally used as transport and aerial surveillance platforms.

Boni Er, a company funded by the government of Macedonia used in firefighting operations, operated its three An-2 aircraft to help quell the fires.