Croatia’s Armed Forces will begin the 2025 wildfire season with a reduced fleet of firefighting aircraft, as several planes remain out of service due to ongoing maintenance, a statement from the defence ministry said.

The shortfall in firefighting aircraft comes as Croatia braces for another potentially intense fire season, with military support playing an important role in suppressing blazes across the Adriatic coast and inland regions.

In 2024, Croatia was one of the European countries to report an increase in wildfire activity, according to a recent report from the European Union’s European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), which found wildfires ravaged large swathes of land across Ukraine and the Balkans in 2024. 

The Chief of the General Staff, General Tihomir Kundid, has submitted the annual preparedness assessment to Defence Minister Ivan Anušić, warning that not all aircraft will be operational by June 1, the date when the military enters official firefighting readiness.

Currently, three Canadair CL-415 water bombers and three Air Tractor AT-802 aircraft are available for deployment. However, an additional three Canadairs and three Air Tractors are still being serviced by the Zrakoplovno-tehnički centar (ZTC), the state-owned aircraft maintenance centre.

By the start of June, the Armed Forces expect to have five Canadairs and three Air Tractors in operation. One of the Canadairs, however, is set to be retired from service by early July due to its expiring operational life, meaning the full fleet of six Canadairs will not be available simultaneously at any point during the season.

The remaining aircraft – three Air Tractors and one Canadair – are expected to be delivered by mid-June, leaving the Armed Forces temporarily short of four firefighting planes at the season’s outset.