Partners to develop Super Puma firefighting system
DART Aerospace and United Rotorcraft will collaborate to develop an ‘advanced aerial firefighting system’ for the Airbus Super Puma family of aircraft
The new aerial firefighting system will comprise an external belly-mounted tank capable of holding up to 4,000L of fluid, as well as a range of system controls located in the cockpit.
As part of the long-term agreement, DART and United Rotorcraft will work to ‘identify and meet additional market requirements’ for the new firefighting system.
The system will be compatible with a range of Super Puma aircraft, including both ‘new and legacy’ Airbus H225 and H215/AS332 aircraft. It will be marketed to both government agencies and commercial operators.
United Rotorcraft will also develop multi-mission equipment packages to ‘extend the year-round value of the helicopter platform for operator-specific requirements’.
Additionally, the partners will work to acquire supplemental type certificates (STC) for the product from agencies such as the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and Transport Canada.
DART recently received a new Transport Canada STC for the use of its external cargo Heli-Utility-Basket on the Bell 505 aircraft.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at AirMed&Rescue. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.