Wildfires in Europe are becoming an increasingly complex challenge for emergency services. They are affecting larger areas, occurring more frequently, and the high fire-risk season is lasting longer. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen emphasized the need to scale up preparedness and strengthen the capabilities of the future European firefighting air fleet, UNN writes.
"Wildfires. They are becoming more intense, more frequent, and affecting increasingly larger areas. I must say that I am extremely proud of Europe's response — of how our European resources were transported by air from one part of the continent to another. But it is obvious that we need to act on a larger scale and learn faster," Ursula von der Leyen said while discussing the European Commission's priority areas of work during her annual address to the European Parliament.
The President of the European Commission also said that she had instructed officials to prepare proposals for a future European firefighting air fleet.
"We have tasked some of Europe's most experienced firefighters and emergency response specialists with leading this work. They will analyze all aspects of preparedness and fire prevention: from civil-military coordination to the need for new capabilities. And I asked them to prepare proposals, including on a future European firefighting air fleet," she said.
The need to strengthen such capabilities is also linked to the changing nature of fires themselves. The EU notes that climate change is causing them to spread faster and last longer, and therefore Europe needs to prepare for risks in advance rather than merely respond to the consequences of large-scale fires.
Fighting wildfires in Europe is no longer limited to the ability of an individual country to quickly mobilize its own resources. The European response system is increasingly relying on mutual assistance: equipment and specialized teams can be moved to wherever the greatest need arises at a given moment.
In 2026, the EU prepared for wildfires in advance. In particular, a response system was put in place involving more than 700 firefighters from 14 European countries, as well as 22 firefighting aircraft and five helicopters.
Ukraine's experience as part of the system
The need for additional aviation capabilities creates an opportunity to use aircraft specifically designed to combat large-scale fires and already experienced in operations in various countries.
One such aircraft is the Ukrainian An-32P (AN-32P) Firekiller — a specialized firefighting version of the An-32 transport aircraft. Its design allows it to drop up to 8,000 liters of water or fire-retardant mixture in a single sortie — in two passes of 4,000 liters each. The discharge takes place from an altitude of approximately 40–50 meters, making it possible to create dense coverage directly over the fire area.
The aircraft was designed with the specifics of operating in difficult conditions in mind. The basic An-32 was once developed for operation in high temperatures and at considerable altitudes, while during the creation of the firefighting version, its more powerful engines were intended to provide the necessary maneuverability and the ability to accurately drop water in mountainous terrain.
In addition to its firefighting equipment, the An-32P (AN-32P) retains its transport capabilities and can carry firefighters and the necessary equipment. This makes it possible to use the aircraft not only for dropping water but also for performing other tasks during emergency response operations.
Such aircraft are used, in particular, by the Ukrainian airline XENA, which specializes in aerial firefighting. According to the company, its aircraft and crew members have repeatedly carried out firefighting missions in Turkey, Greece, and Montenegro.
In 2025, one of XENA’s An-32Ps (AN-32P) was also deployed to strengthen Montenegro’s aerial firefighting capacity during the fire season. In June 2026, the aircraft operated in the country again — this time, it was deployed to fight a fire in the Orjen area, where the difficult mountainous terrain hampered access for ground units.
Europe is already strengthening its own forest-fire response system, while international cooperation is becoming increasingly important. Ukraine’s (AN-32P) Firekiller has many years of experience in such operations. This experience could become part of a broader European system of cooperation in combating large-scale forest fires.
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