The first of the Algerian firefighting aircraft, a Beriev Be-200, has entered the testing phase. This aircraft was manufactured by the Russian company United Aircraft Corporation (UAC).
The equipment intended for extinguishing forest fires was built as a result of an agreement signed between Algeria and Irkut, a company specialized in the production of firefighting aircraft and part of UAC, comprising four amphibious planes.
If all goes according to plan, the country should have two Beriev Be-200s by the summer of 2023. These seaplanes will be piloted by Algerian crews, while their maintenance will be handled by local engineers.
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Algeria has had to face several forest fires in recent years, which have caused considerable damage. The Russian firefighting aircraft, Beriev Be-200, of which Algeria has ordered a batch, should reinforce the country’s capacity to combat forest fires.
According to the specialized website Mena Défense, the first of the four planes departed from Russia to Algeria on May 21 and arrived in the country after a planned stopover in Tunisia. From an order of four planes, it is expected that a second one will be delivered by the end of the year. The other two will be delivered in 2024. According to the same source, negotiations are still ongoing for an option of two additional planes.
The Beriev Be-200 is a versatile aircraft designed especially for firefighting operations and surveillance of maritime areas. This model is capable of collecting large amounts of water from the surface of rivers and seas, and then dispersing it over fire-affected areas. The aircraft were ordered in August 2021 in response to the major forest fires that devastated Algeria.
