An additional $35 million in government funding has been allocated to aircraft used by emergency services. The money will be provided to the National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC) over the next two years through the 2024/25 Federal Budget. The NAFC supports the delivery of national, state and territory aircraft for use by fire and emergency services. These aircraft can be used for firefighting, and emergency rescue and evacuation efforts in response to fires, floods and other severe weather events across the country. Read more on this story from About Regional ..read more

Dauntless Air announced on May 28th, 2024, the addition of five aircraft to its industry-leading Fire Boss fleet. The growth comes amid increasing global recognition of the effectiveness of scooper-centric aerial firefighting strategies and the superior performance of the Fire Boss in wildfire operations. “By expanding our fleet, we are not only increasing our operational capacity but also reinforcing our commitment to leading the fight against wildfires wherever we’re needed.” In the United States, demand for the Fire Boss – also known as the Single Engine Scooper (SES) – has reached unprec ..read more

TransDigm Group Incorporated announced on May 22 that it has completed the acquisition of SEI Industries LTD. SEI Industries, headquartered in Delta, British Columbia, is a leading provider of highly engineered products for aerial firefighting and other liquid transportation solutions, such as remote refueling. Their innovative and world renowned Bambi Bucket®, is a proprietary collapsible firefighting bucket used across the globe to combat forest fires, among other applications. SEI provides exceptional aftermarket support of the Bambi Bucket® through its 12 international repair facili ..read more

Recoil Aerospace announced this week that the company has received Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) approval for the Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs) for its T1000-E and T650-E aerial firefighting systems. This approval allows Recoil to offer its advanced firefighting solutions to Canadian firefighting agencies operating eligible Super Puma AS332 and EC225 helicopters. “We are very pleased to receive TCCA approval for the T1000-E and T650-E systems,” said Joseph Rice, President of Recoil Aerospace. “This is a significant milestone that opens the door for Canadian operators to ..read more

Photo by Marty Wolin Missoula, MT – 23 May 2024 – Neptune Aviation Services, a leader in aerial firefighting and aviation services, was awarded a Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC) by the United States Forest Service (USFS) with task orders for the three BAe 146 aircraft they had available for the 2024 wildfire season. All three task orders are for exclusive use and include a base year with four 1-year options along with 160-day guaranteed Mandatory Availability Periods (MAP). With this award and their existing contracts, Neptune’s entire fleet of nine airtankers are committed to excl ..read more

Port Alberni, British Columbia – May 23, 2024 – Coulson Aviation is excited to announce the arrival of the company’s first Boeing 737-700 aircraft to be converted to the world’s highest capacity Large Air Tanker (LAT). The first of up to ten aircraft, Coulson is proud to continue its relationship with Southwest Airlines, who has supplied Coulson with the company’s entire 737 fleet to date. “Our new 737-700 Next Gen FIRELINER program will build on our existing 737-300 platform which has been extremely successful for us,” says Britt Coulson, President and COO of Coulson Aviation ..read more

May of 2024 saw Queensland, Australia-based McDermott Aviation celebrate 40 years of operation. John McDermott, who still serves as the company’s founder and CEO, started the business after taking flight training during his aircraft mechanic apprenticeship. He later fell in love with helicopter operations after seeing a Bell 47 spraying grapevines along a river. At this pivotal moment, John decided he wanted to be a helicopter pilot and start a business in the same aircraft, the Bell 47, of which the company still owns and operates two types for agricultural spraying. The next several decades ..read more

TracPlus, a global leader in aerial firefighting software solutions, today announced the launch of TracPlus Beacon, an innovative mobile application that transforms smartphones into advanced tracking devices. Integrated seamlessly with the TracPlus Cloud platform, this solution extends the trusted tracking, operational oversight and safety to more asset types across land, sea, and air. It is designed to meet the needs of diverse and complex environments, providing scalable, cost-effective tracking capabilities without the need for additional hardware for assets within cellular reception ..read more

As Europe is preparing for the approaching wildfire season, the EU is taking significant steps to bolster firefighting efforts and safeguard communities, by pre-positioning firefighters and assembling a fleet of firefighting aircraft. First, 556 firefighters from 12 countries will be strategically prepositioned across key locations in Europe this summer, such as France, Greece, Portugal, and Spain, ready to help local fire brigades. This proactive measure enhances Europe’s readiness to combat wildfires and mitigate their devastating impact on lives, homes, and the environment, and un ..read more

Coulson Aviation continues annual training this week out of Palm Springs International Airport, operating from the Palm Springs Air Museum, where several of their assets are conducting company training, including the company’s newest asset, tanker 137, a Boeing 737, in a new paint scheme. “We will have our C-130 Hercules and Boeing 737 air tanker fleet training from May 9th to May 14th flying up to 50 training flights,” said Wayne Coulson, CEO of Coulson Aviation. “We are extremely pleased to have the support of the Palm Springs Air Museum and the Palm Springs Airport.” “The Ai ..read more