Avincis strengthens Europe’s wildfire response capacity with five McDermott 214ST helicopters

Avincis and McDermott Aviation have announced a letter of intent (LOI) for the acquisition of five McDermott 214ST medium-lift twin-turbine helicopters, expanding Avincis’ rotary-wing capacity available for aerial firefighting and critical utility missions across its operating regions.

The investment comes as demand for aerial firefighting capacity continues to rise. By 31 July 2026, Avincis had completed more than 12,600 firefighting flight hours and nearly 5,400 missions across Spain, Portugal, and Italy – almost 90% more flight hours than at the same point in 2025 – while dropping more than 225 million liters of water. The aircraft will be deployed across Avincis’ operations to support wildfire and utility operations, with their allocation determined by operational requirements and seasonal wildfire demand across the group’s operating regions.

The five aircraft will add a high-capacity and versatile platform to Avincis’ integrated fleet of helicopters and amphibious waterbombers. Depending on mission configuration and operating conditions, the 214ST offers up to 3,000kg of useful load, a maximum external hook load of 3,582kg, endurance of up to 4.1 hours and a cruise speed of 120kts. Its twin CT7-2A engines, large cabin, and hot-and-high performance make it well suited to water-dropping, the transport of crews and equipment, external-load operations, and missions from remote or confined locations.

The LOI further strengthens the relationship between the two organizations, combining McDermott Aviation’s expertise in developing and supporting specialized medium-lift aircraft with Avincis’ extensive operational network across its global regions of operation.

Giving customers more options

John Boag, Group CEO of Avincis, said: “As demand for aerial firefighting and utility operations continues to grow, investing in versatile medium-lift aircraft is essential to ensuring we can support our customers wherever they need us most.

“The McDermott 214ST is a highly respected platform, and these aircraft will strengthen our ability to deploy resources across our operations in response to changing operational requirements and wildfire conditions. We look forward to continuing our relationship with McDermott Aviation as we invest in the future of aerial emergency services.

“These five aircraft give Avincis another powerful option within our integrated fleet. The 214ST’s lift, endurance, and hot-and-high performance will strengthen our rotary-wing response, while its utility capability will allow us to deploy the aircraft across a wider range of critical missions throughout the year. We are not simply adding aircraft. We are giving our customers and the emergency services directing operations on the ground more options when conditions escalate.”

John McDermott, Founder and President of McDermott Aviation, said: “The agreement represented an important milestone for the McDermott 214ST program and reflected growing international demand for capable, mission-ready aircraft.

“We’ve believed in the capability of the 214ST for a long time. An agreement for five aircraft is a significant step forward for the program and reinforces the role we believe this aircraft can play in firefighting and utility operations globally.

“We have spent decades operating, maintaining, and engineering the 214 series in some of the toughest environments in the world. That experience gives us a very clear understanding of what the aircraft is capable of and what operators need from it.

“As the type certificate holder for the 214ST, we are committed to the long-term future of the platform. We’re looking forward to continuing to work with Avincis and seeing these aircraft supporting critical operations across its network.”

McDermott Aviation owns the type certificates for both the Bell 214B and 214ST series and is preparing to commence production of its modified utility 214ST model. The program builds on more than four decades of operational, engineering, and maintenance experience with the 214 series.

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