Canadair CL-415

CL-415 / DHC-515
Role	Firefighting aircraft Type of aircraft
Manufacturer	Canadair Bombardier Aerospace De Havilland Canada
First flight	6 December 1993
Introduction	1994
Status	Active service
Primary users	Vigili del Fuoco (Italy) Sécurité Civile (France) Hellenic Air Force (Greece) Quebec Service aérien gouvernemental
Produced	CL-415: 1993–2015 / DHC-515: 2022–present
Number built	95[1]
Developed from	Canadair CL-215

The Canadair CL-415 (Super Scooper,^[2] later Bombardier 415) and the De Havilland Canada DHC-515 are a series of amphibious aircraft built originally by Canadair and subsequently by Bombardier and De Havilland Canada. The CL-415 is based on the Canadair CL-215 and is designed specifically for aerial firefighting; it can perform various other roles, such as search and rescue and utility transport.

Development of the CL-415 began in the early 1990s, shortly after the success of the CL-215T retrofit programme had proven a viable demand for a turboprop-powered model of the original CL-215. Entering production in 2003, in addition to its new engines, the aircraft featured numerous modernisation efforts and advances over the CL-215, particularly in terms of its cockpit and aerodynamics, to yield improved performance. By the time the programme's production phase had begun, it was owned by Bombardier, who continued production up until 2015. In October 2016, the CL-415 programme was acquired by Viking Air, aiming to produce an updated CL-515,^[3] since renamed the DHC-515 Firefighter, and to be produced in Calgary, Alberta, by De Havilland Canada.^[4]