Bridger Aerospace Expands Super Scooper Fleet as Wildfire Contracts Extend

Bridger Aerospace Group NASDAQ: BAER is expanding its aerial firefighting fleet and pursuing longer-term government contracts as wildfire activity extends further into the year, Chief Executive Officer Sam Davis said during a discussion hosted by Canaccord Genuity Senior Aerospace and Defense Technology Analyst Austin Moeller. Headquartered in Bozeman, Montana, Bridger provides wildfire suppression and surveillance services. Davis said the company operates the largest privately owned fleet of Super Scooper aircraft, which are purpose-built water-scooping planes used to support ground firefighting crews. The company also operates sensor-equipped aircraft that provide real-time imagery, perimeter mapping and other situational-awareness data. Davis said Bridger owns six of the 10 Super Scoopers located in the United States, with all six operating under federal contracts. The aircraft can scoop and drop water continuously over roughly a four-hour fuel cycle and can deliver hundreds of thousands of gallons of water during a day of firefighting, according to Davis. The company recently acquired two additional Super Scoopers in Spain, bringing its total fleet to eight aircraft. Those two aircraft are currently operating in Portugal under a dry-lease arrangement with Avincis that runs from mid-July through mid-October, Davis said. While the European contract provides revenue, Davis said Bridger increasingly sees the U.S. as the better market for the aircraft because of demand and economics. He said requests for Super Scoopers in the U.S. can go unfilled at rates as high as 48%. “These planes are probably better served in the U.S. and fight fire,” Davis said, adding that private contracting is more established in the U.S. than in Europe and Canada, where aircraft fleets are generally operated by governments. The company is also working to return two additional Spanish aircraft to service. Davis said one is near airworthy, while the other had required parts that are no longer produced but for which Bridger now has a line of sight. He said the aircraft could potentially become operational as soon as next year. Government agencies have moved toward longer task orders as fire seasons have expanded and aviation resources have remained scarce. Earlier Super Scooper contracts were primarily structured on a call-when-needed basis, requiring the company to maintain aircraft and staff on standby without guaranteed work. Bridger now has four of its six U.S.-based Super Scoopers on 160-day task orders, which Davis described as a significant milestone. Its two Spain-based aircraft are on 90-day task orders, while eight of the company’s nine surveillance aircraft are committed for multiyear guaranteed-day arrangements. Under exclusive-use contracts, the company is guaranteed work for a specified number of days.