New System Replaces Legacy Tools with Streamlined Data Capture, Real-Time Insights, and Modern Aviation Analytics TracPlus, a global leader in mission-critical intelligence for aerial firefighting, today announced its strategic partnership with CAL FIRE to launch the CAL FIRE Aviation Tracking…
Columbia Helicopters wins Turkey firefighting contract
Fifth Consecutive Year Supporting Wildfire Response with 234 Chinook Aircraft Columbia Helicopters is pleased to announce the renewal of its aerial firefighting contract with CMC Savunma Sanayi A.S. in Turkey. This marks Columbia’s fifth consecutive fire season supporting Turkey’s national…
Seeing through the smoke: TracPlus’ role in aerial firefighting in NZ
Dive into the challenges and trends in aerial firefighting, and see how TracPlus is leading the way in safeguarding against the growing threat of wildfires New Zealand’s landscapes, famed for their breathtaking beauty, are increasingly facing a formidable adversary: wildfires.…
China tackles Sichuan Forest Fire with support of domestically developed UAV
China has dispatched the Wing Loong-2 large unmanned aerial vehicle to support teams tackling a forest fire in Sichuan province. The domestically developed large civil UAV was rushed to Sichuan to carry out support missions under the Ministry of Emergency…
Helitak Announces Development of Fire Bucket Product for Aerial Firefighting
Helitak Firefighting Equipment, an Australian-based aerial firefighting tank manufacturer, announced on March 6th, 2024, during the opening day of the Aerial Firefighting North America show in Sacramento, California the launch of the Helitak Fire Bucket. The bucket range was initiated…
Kestrel Upgrades AS332 for Night Fire Program in Victoria
Australian-owned Kestrel Aviation, based in Mangalore in central Victoria, has upgraded its Airbus AS332L1 Super Puma (Helitak 349) over the winter as it transitions into the State’s Night Fire Aviation Program (NFAP). Now known as the “Shadow Cat”, the aircraft…
Firefighting Conference discusses Global Aerial Strategy as Bushfire Season looms
Firefighting aircraft based in Australia are now becoming a world resource, following a wild northern hemisphere summer of bushfires in Canada, the USA and Greece. Despite the tragic death of two pilots in a firefighting crash in Greece, Australian fire authorities say aerial firefighting remains the most effective…
Collaborative research improves data for aerial firefighting
A collaborative research project is improving the data accessible by aerial firefighters to locate nearby water sources. During active bushfires, aerial firefighting units are dispatched by members of the National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC) through an online system called Arena.…
Victorian Government Night Firefighting Aviation Program
The state of Victoria in Australia is now in its seventh year of contiguous operations of the Night Fire Aviation Program (NFAP). From the humble beginnings of the program, it has now grown to employ state-of-the-art technology on multiple platforms.…
What are the applications of VTOL UAV/ DRONES in forest wildfires?
The VTOL drone intelligent high-altitude reconnaissance and forest fire video monitoring system is applied to forest fire prevention. It can carry out normal inspections in areas with flammable risks. It can make every effort to investigate hidden dangers and enable…
Innovative design sees Helitak gain additional approvals
Now widely used all over the world, Helitak have continued to build on their original design of the expandable fire suppression tank, adapting it to suit additional aircraft and broadening the number of models now approved to install and use…
An 81m aerial platform for the Lotos Refinery
Lotos Straż, a fire service of Grupa LOTOS in Gdańsk, Poland has received an 81m Bronto F81HLA aerial platform, making them the owners of one of the highest firefighting platforms in the European Union. The Bronto F81HLA is the newest addition to LOTOS…
Santa Maria Central Coast Jet Center hosts firefighting aircraft and Congressional Western Caucus
The Congressional Western Caucus Foundation held a gathering of 15 US Members of Congress and a number of congressional staff at the Santa Maria (SMX) US Forest Service Air Tanker Base in June. Hosted by the Central Coast Jet Center,…
Dauntless Air enters 2021 wildfire season with expanded fleet of 15 Fire Bosses
As the 2021 wildfire season gets underway, aerial firefighting leader Dauntless Air today announced that it has added two new Fire Bosses to the nation’s largest and most technologically advanced Fire Boss fleet. In pursuit of its mission to protect…
Cutting-edge design puts fires out faster
You could say that flying was in Jason Schellaars blood from a very early age. Fascinated with aircraft and how they worked, he spent every free moment building model planes and helicopters. In fact, his passion for flying burned so…
Victorian fire agencies take collaborative work to the skies
One of Australia’s smallest states, Victoria is also one of the country’s – and the world’s – most bushfire prone areas. The “We Work as One” mantra of its Country Fire Authority (CFA), Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFM Vic) and…
Fire suppressant – NEXTGEN water enhancer innovation
Fire suppressants have been around since the first time that water was used to put out a campfire. Water remains the most available, cheapest, and highly effective direct attack suppressant available to the wildland fire community, but as we all…
Night fire suppression operations trial – Emergency Management Victoria
Night firebombing has the potential to significantly improve Australia’s aerial firefighting capability in support of hard working ground crews, to better protect life, property and critical infrastructure during major bushfires and emergencies and to extend the daytime aerial operations into…
Dauntless Air Expands Fire Boss Fleet
Aerial firefighting leader grows as demand increases for modernized wildfire approach Dauntless Air, an aerial firefighting company deeply dedicated to protecting people, land and property from the devastation of wildfires, today announced it has added two AT-802F Fire Boss aircraft…
Australian Eyes in the Sky
Air Affairs Australia has been providing Airborne Bushfire Reconnaissance services in Australia since 1994 and Chris Sievers, Managing Director, and his team have not stopped developing new firefighting technologies since then. Starting out with a hired Learjet 35A aircraft configured…
Collaboratively managing our aerial firefighting resources
The reality of firefighting is that it is a complex science. Now more than ever aerial operations are needed to assist resources on the ground. The National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC) supports aerial firefighting capabilities through its collaborative approach to…