On 4 August 2025, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) marked a significant milestone in its fixed-wing search and rescue (SAR) modernization program with the arrival of CC-295 Kingfisher aircraft 503 at 19 Wing Comox, British Columbia. The delivery followed a successful Airbus industrial flight and Assistant Deputy Minister (Materiel) [ADM(Mat)] acceptance test flight conducted in Seville, Spain. The subsequent ferry flight to Canada, crewed by RCAF personnel, represents another step forward in enhancing Canada’s SAR capabilities. Aircraft 503 is now the ninth Kingfisher in Canadian service. Its introduction will enable RCAF personnel to commence flying operations at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Greenwood in preparation for achieving full SAR mission readiness by January 2026. Operational expansion will continue with deployment to CFB Winnipeg in the third quarter of 2026, followed by CFB Trenton in late 2028.
This achievement underscores the professionalism of the Fixed-Wing Search and Rescue Project Team and the broader SAR enterprise, which have worked through a complex acquisition process to deliver the next generation of Canadian SAR aircraft. The CC-295 Kingfisher, derived from the Airbus C-295W, is purpose-built for SAR operations across Canada’s vast and challenging geography. Its advanced integrated sensor suite allows crews to detect persons or objects from more than 40 km away, even in low-light or adverse weather conditions. The RCAF ordered 16 CC-295 Kingfishers in 2016 to replace its aging CC-115 Buffalo and older C-130H Hercules SAR aircraft. While initial delivery schedules targeted completion by 2022, full operational capability has been delayed to 2025–2026 due to equipment and software integration challenges.
Deliveries began in 2020, with the first operational aircraft arriving in Canada in September of that year. Aircraft are assigned to 413 Transport and Rescue Squadron (CFB Greenwood), 424 Transport and Rescue Squadron (CFB Trenton), 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron (CFB Winnipeg), and 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron along with 418 Search and Rescue Operational Training Squadron (CFB Comox). With its dedicated training facility established at CFB Comox by Airbus, the Kingfisher fleet is poised to become the backbone of Canada’s fixed-wing SAR capability, replacing decades-old platforms and significantly improving mission effectiveness in one of the world’s largest and most challenging search areas.
The Airbus C295 (previously CASA C-295) is a medium tactical transport aircraft that was designed and initially manufactured by the Spanish aerospace company CASA, which is now part of the European multinational Airbus Defence and Space division. Work on what would become the C-295 was started during the 1990s as a derivative of the successful CASA/IPTN CN-235 transport aircraft. On 28 November 1997, the prototype performed its maiden flight; quantity production commenced shortly thereafter. In April 1999, the Spanish Air Force became its launch customer with an order for nine military-configured C-295s; two years later, the type was declared operational with the service. Further orders for the C-295 would promptly follow. Following the incorporation of CASA into the pan-European aeronautical group EADS in 2000, it was redesignated as the EADS CASA C-295. EADS rebranded itself as Airbus in 2015.
