A Canadian manufacturer says climate change prompted its move to build an updated version of a popular waterbomber. De Havilland Canada announced it has received 22 orders from European customers to go ahead with development of the DHC-515 amphibious flying boat waterbomber. The aircraft is an update of the Bombardier CL-415. De Havilland bought the type certificate from Bombardier in 2016 and has been testing the waters for a major update of the legacy airframe ever since. The ferocity of wildfires all over the planet in recent years tipped the balance.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/climate-change-cited-in-new-waterbomber-announcement