Water bombers live: track firefighting aircraft in real time
Continuously updated · No water bomber currently detected in flight
See water bombers on the live map →Water bombers only operate in daylight: seeing few or none at night is normal. They reappear over fire zones at sunrise.
How does kanari track water bombers?
Every aircraft broadcasts its position via ADS-B (the same signal as airliners). kanari aggregates these signals through the airplanes.live community network and filters firefighting assets: Canadair CL-415/CL-215, Air Tractor Fire Boss, S-2T Turbo Tracker, DC-10 and BAe 146 air tankers, and firefighting helicopters (S-64 Air Crane, Chinook, Firehawk). Positions refresh about every 15 seconds, with interpolated movement in between.
The French fleet: Pélican, Milan, Dragon
France's Sécurité Civile operates 12 Canadair CL-415s (callsign “Pélican”), 6 Dash 8-402MRs (“Milan”) and EC145 rescue helicopters (“Dragon”), based at Nîmes-Garons. kanari tracks each airframe individually as soon as it takes off, thanks to its unique transponder ID. Credits to Henri (canadair-tracker) for mapping the fleet.
Why don't I see any aircraft near a fire?
Three possible reasons: it's night (no night drops), the assets engaged are local or military helicopters that don't broadcast publicly, or the transponder is off. kanari shows everything publicly broadcasting — which covers most European Canadairs and North American tankers.
Where are the Canadairs right now?
The kanari.io map shows the real-time position of every Canadair and water bomber broadcasting ADS-B worldwide: Italy, France, Croatia, Greece, Spain, North America, Australia. Click an aircraft for its model, nationality, speed and altitude.
Can I track the French Pélican Canadairs in flight?
Yes: the 12 CL-415 “Pélican” and 6 Dash 8 “Milan” of the French Sécurité Civile are tracked individually by kanari as soon as they take off from Nîmes-Garons.
How much water does a Canadair drop?
A CL-415 scoops about 6,000 litres in 12 seconds from a water body and can chain rotations for dozens of drops per day when a scooping point is close to the fire.
See also: FAQ. Data: ADS-B via airplanes.live. In an emergency call 112 / 911.