Billings Flying Service wins Montana firefighting contract
Helicopter operator Billings Flying Service (BFS) has been awarded an exclusive use contract by Montana’s Department of Natural Resources
The contract will see BFS provide a CH-47 Chinook fitted with an external tank to provide a “high-volume precision water drop capability” to the US state over its summer fire season.
The contract began on 1 July, and while the aircraft will be based in Montana, it could be sent to neighboring states under a cooperative agreement between the state government and the US Forest Service.
The aircraft is capable of delivering water at a rate of up to 2,500gal per drop.
Funding for the contract comes from Montana’s House Bill 883, passed in 2023, which allows state lawmakers to roll unused fire suppression fund money forward to prepare for the next year’s wildfire season.
“The CH-47 Chinook’s fire suppression capability is second to none,” said BFS Director of Business Development Katrina Miller. “By contracting this helicopter for exclusive use, the state has secured an asset to work solely for its use at a moment’s notice this season and will have the capability to dispatch initial attack missions as soon as a fire is identified.”
BFS acquired a fleet of six surplus Chinooks from the Netherlands Ministry of Defence last year.
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