The Squadron currently has 5 Canadair CL 415 aircraft, 6 AT 802 aircraft, 1 Mi-171 helicopter, 1 PC-9M aircraft and 1 unmanned aerial vehicle system "Orbiter 3" as key resources for fire protection and reconnaissance. The introduction of unmanned aircraft systems has enabled the surveillance of inaccessible areas which in turn significantly reduces the time needed to detect a fire. Also, this ability provides an opportunity to more precisely and effectively define and allocate priorities in the event of simultaneous fires in several different locations.

Fighting fires from the air is demanding and dangerous activity which requires a high level of coordination and skill and this is why the members of the Squadron follow a rigorous and thorough training syllabus.

During the firefighting season the 855th Firefighting Squadron is on standby and responds quickly to fire reports. An operational firefighting command is established in Divulje air force base in Split. This command brings together firefighters, civil protection, the army, the police and other operational forces that make up the homeland security system, which greatly facilitates the command process. The command centre is connected to 90 cameras, mainly from Croatian companies OIV – Digital signals and networks and Croatian Forests, which are used to monitor the situation in inaccessible terrain.

In 2024. the largest engagement of members of the 855th Firefighting Squadron was in August. During that month the fires were most frequent in three Dalmatian counties: 12 fires in Šibenik-Knin County, 36 in Split-Dalmatia County and 20 in Zadar County, and another 2 in Lika-Senj County, 5 in Istria County and 3 in Dubrovnik-Neretva County.

In 2024. the Squadron flew as many as 5826 times, achieved 889 flight hours, discharged 28,674 tons of water, transported 22 tons of water and 42 people, and in addition, 19,000 litres of foam and 544,503 litres of fuel were consumed.

During the off season, members of the 855th Firefighting Squadron perform regular during day and night flight training according to VFR and IFR flight rules in order to be maintain their competencies and qualifications and to be ready for challenges of the new firefighting season.

This squadron is part of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (rescEU) and has, in 2024, participated in firefighting missions in North Macedonia and Greece. During the aforementioned mission, 4 pilots, 2 flight technicians and 4 aircraft technicians were deployed.

RescEU, as an upgrade of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, represents a kind of additional protection for EU citizens from large forest fires, which are increasing every year due to sudden climate change. RescEU is fully funded by the European Commission and includes a fleet of firefighting amphibious aircraft and helicopters. To assist other countries, Croatia has allocated and made available two CL-415 firefighting aircraft with two crews, to be at disposal during the firefighting season.

In order to build a permanent fleet of the rescEU mechanism, the European Commission is ambitiously investing funds in the modernization of aircraft of existing Member States. In accordance with this decision, Croatia, as one of six member states (along with Greece, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal), plans to purchase a new type of aircraft CL-515 from the De Havilland Canadair family of the Canadian corporation. Croatia has committed to purchase two new CL-515 aircraft, which will also be fully financed through European funds.

images are courtesy of the Croatian Air Force