Dash 8 Q400
ICAO DH8DA regional turboprop converted into a water bomber for the French fire service. Live Dash 8 Q400 positions.
Flying right now
Live · 30s
No Dash 8 Q400 is transmitting ADS-B at the moment.
Military aircraft are not obliged to broadcast, so this happens regularly. The count refreshes every thirty seconds.
Airframe
- Manufacturer
- Bombardier
- Role
- Aerial firefighting and transport
- Class
- L2T — Landplane, 2 turboprop engines
- Crew
- 2
- First flight
- 31 January 1998
- In service
- 2000
Operators airborne
Nothing of this type is up right now.
About the Dash 8 Q400
Most of the Dash 8s on this feed are not military at all — they belong to France's Sécurité Civile, which operates a fleet of Q400MR aircraft as water bombers alongside its Canadair scoopers, and they appear in the state aircraft feed this site reads.
The multirole conversion carries a removable tank holding around ten tonnes of retardant, which means the same airframe can move freight or people out of season. In a bad Mediterranean summer they are among the busiest aircraft in southern Europe.
A handful of air forces fly transport versions, and the Q400 is also widely used as a civil regional airliner under the same designator.
Callsign prefixes
- PELICAN
- Sécurité Civile water bombers
- MILAN
- Another Sécurité Civile block
How to recognise it
- —A long high-wing turboprop with six-bladed propellers and a tall T-tail.
- —Firefighting aircraft are yellow and red, with a belly tank fairing.
- —On the feed in summer: repeated short circuits between a fire and a reload base.
Common questions
+ Why do firefighting aircraft appear on a military tracker?
The feed includes state-operated aircraft, and France's Sécurité Civile is a government service. Its aircraft are carried alongside air force ones.
+ How much water does a Q400MR carry?
Around ten tonnes of water or retardant in a removable tank, which can be taken out so the aircraft can carry freight or passengers outside the fire season.
+ Is this the same aircraft as a regional airliner?
Yes, the Bombardier Q400. The firefighting version is a conversion, and civil examples share the same ADS-B designator.