Bridger Aerospace announced on February 20th, the deployment of a Pilatus PC-12 Multi-Mission Aircraft (MMA) to Oklahoma to provide aerial intelligence for early-season wildfires. This marks the earliest seasonal deployment of any Bridger Aircraft since the company’s inception in 2014.
Bridger Aerospace operates two Multi-Mission Aircraft under a 5-year contract with the Department of the Interior (DOI) and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), initiated during the 2023 fire season to leverage the architecture of Bridger’s proprietary data platform and leading-edge sensor and mapping capabilities.
Tim Sheehy, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented, “Team Bridger is always ready to respond when called upon to protect our communities. Our aircrews and ground support teams are a critical part of our nation’s aerial first responder infrastructure, and we are honored to serve Americans from coast to coast.”
Bridger’s MMA is strategically stationed in Oklahoma due to the region’s climate and historical early-season fire activity. As fire activity migrates through the season, the aircraft are expected to be relocated by the DOI and BIA to optimize mission effectiveness and maximize support to wildland firefighters.
The previously disclosed contracts with the DOI include two five-year exclusive use contracts worth up to $24 million each, and one call-when-needed contract worth up to $20 million for high resolution surveillance and intelligence operations using a specialized air attack asset. The Multi-Mission Aircraft include Bridger-designed enhancements specifically for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) over wildfires and natural disasters. The upgrades to the PC-12 platform include a retractable, military-grade infrared sensor system and Mission Sensor Operator workstation, along with communications equipment for air-to-ground communications and file sharing. The aircraft are equipped with modular imaging systems, including the WESCAM MX-15 and Overwatch TK-8, designed to capture wildfire imagery and data to support ground firefighters. Popular use cases for the platform include enhanced “Air Attack” accompanied by an Air Tactical Group Supervisor (ATGS), detecting new fire starts in areas with recent lightning strikes, and providing detailed and timely imagery of ongoing fires. This program is a critical component of incident planning, decision-making and tactical firefighting.
About Bridger Aerospace
Based in Belgrade, Montana, Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. is one of the nation’s largest aerial firefighting companies. Bridger provides aerial firefighting and wildfire management services to federal and state government agencies, including the United States Forest Service, across the nation, as well as internationally. More information about Bridger Aerospace is available at https://www.bridgeraerospace.com.
