S-64 order from KFS

Erickson Incorporated has been contracted by the Korea Forest Service (KFS) to build two new Aircranes to supplement the Service’s firefighting capability. These aircraft are in addition to a previously ordered S64E Aircrane currently under construction at Erickson and due to be delivered in the third quarter of this year. The Forest Aviation Headquarters, a subsidiary of the Korea Forest Service, has ordered two additional S-64E models equipped with firefighting tanks, sea snorkels, foam cannons, glass cockpit, composite main rotor blades and NVG capability. 

Douglas Kitani, CEO and director of Erickson, said of the order: “This was a global competition, and we were competing with manufacturers from around the world. We are pleased to bring the work and jobs to our Southern Oregon facility and apply Erickson’s unique skillset to augment Korea’s firefighting capabilities.”

KFS was the first foreign government that purchased S-64s from Erickson in 2001, and to date it has operated five Aircranes in Korea while maintaining a contract for parts and service support. This new contract brings the total number of orders for the KFS Aircrane fleet to eight, with the expectation of delivering the seventh and eighth aircraft by the end of 2019.