Dauntless expands aerial fire-fighting fleet
Dauntless Air has added two additional AT-802F Fire Boss aircraft to its fleet.
US-based aerial fire-fighting company Dauntless Air has added two additional AT-802F Fire Boss aircraft to its fleet, bringing its total fleet size up to 13 Fire Bosses and one wheeled AT-802F aircraft.
Brett L’Esperance, CEO at Dauntless Air, said that the fleet additions were a direct response to the ‘growing demand for a modernised approach to aerial firefighting’: “In states like Washington, Idaho, Alaska and Minnesota we’re seeing that a technology-enabled network of economical initial attack aircraft on the front lines can better contain fires, keeping threats small and reducing associated devastation.”
Washington’s tactic of stopping wildfires when they have not grown much by quickly utilising smaller aircraft has meant that 92 per cent of wildfires in the state have been kept under 10 acres since 2016.
The newly acquired Fire Bosses fit into this category of smaller, more cost-effective firefighting aircraft. Dauntless says the aircraft can be widely distributed at small regional bases, meaning it can reach areas quickly, whilse its 800-gallon capacity allows the aircraft to operate in closer proximity to firefighters on the ground and complete precise and continuous drops.
“By giving ground crews the aerial support they need to put out blazes more efficiently, shorter suppression missions free up valuable funds and allow resources to be funnelled back into forest health initiatives that reduce the wildfire threat not just for a single season, but for decades to come,” explained L’Esperance.