CAL FIRE Places Purchase Order For Firehawk Aircraft | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-07.07.25

Airborne-NextGen-07.08.25

AirborneUnlimited-06.25.25

Airborne-AffordableFlyers-06.26.25

AirborneUnlimited-06.27.25

Wed, May 30, 2018

CAL FIRE Places Purchase Order For Firehawk Aircraft

Based On The Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawk Airframe

United Rotorcraft has received a purchase order from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) for the acquisition of a new Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawk aircraft, to be modified into Firehawk firefighting configuration by United Rotorcraft. This aircraft will be the latest firefighting tool put into service by CAL FIRE to protect property and the citizens of California.  

The purchase order follows a decision by the California Assembly and Senate budget subcommittees approving the budget for up to 12 of the aircraft to replace the state’s aging UH-1H fleet over the next five years. The Sikorsky manufactured S-70 is based on the legendary Black Hawk military helicopter, and is uniquely equipped to endure the unrelenting physical stresses demanded of the aerial firefighting and utility missions.

The Firehawk features next generation technology, which will provide substantial benefit to firefighting operators. Features include wide chord rotor blades for increased payload and maneuverability, a rugged airframe, digital glass cockpit with flight management system for improved situation awareness and precision hover capability using an enhanced global positioning system and an inertial navigation system. An Integrated Vehicle Health Management System monitors the aircraft's operational health for preventive maintenance to detect anomalies for early maintenance.

“Igor Sikorsky founded our company with the vision of saving lives,” said Jeanette Eaton, Sikorsky regional sales executive for the United States and Canada.  “On a daily basis, the men and women of CAL FIRE put themselves in harm’s way to protect and save property, homes and lives. We are honored to have been selected as the best equipped aircraft to address California’s firefighting needs and provide the overall best value.  Even more so, we are humbled to play a role in their demanding mission and fulfilling Igor’s vision.”

Once assembled, the aircraft are modified by United Rotorcraft with a 1,000-gallon (3,785-liter) water tank equipped with a unique snorkel system for 60-second tank refill, extended landing gear, single pilot cockpit layout and a medically equipped interior, all of which arm the aircraft for its role as a multi-mission firefighting tool.

“United Rotorcraft and Sikorsky are honored to support CAL FIRE’s stewardship of over 31 million acres throughout California,” said Mike Slattery, president of United Rotorcraft. “As seasons have become longer and more severe, it’s crucial that California has these high-performance Firehawk helicopters, which allow initial attack capabilities that can knock down fires early before they spread widely.”

(Source: Lockheed Martin news release. Image from LMC Firehawk website)

FMI: www.lockheedmartin.com/content/lockheed-martin/en-us/products/sikorsky-firehawk.html

Advertisement

More News

NTSB Prelim: Piper PA-23

Pilot Also Reported That Due To A Fuel Leak, The Auxiliary Fuel Tanks Were Not Used On June 4, 2025, at 13:41 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-23, N2109P, was substantially damage>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: One Man’s Vietnam

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Reflections on War’s Collective Lessons and Cyclical Nature The exigencies of war ought be colorblind. Inane social-constructs the likes of racis>[...]

NTSB Final Report: Capella Aircraft Corp FW1C50

Pilot Reported That He Was Unfamiliar With The Single Seat Amateur-Built Airplane And His Intent Was To Perform High-Speed Taxi Testing Analysis: The pilot reported that he was unf>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Timber Tiger Touts Curtiss Jenny Replicas

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): First Kits to Ship October 2023 Having formerly resurrected the storied shape of the Ryan ST—in effigy, anyway—Montrose, Colorado-based Tim>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (07.04.25): Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) [ICAO]

Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) [ICAO] Area navigation based on performance requirements for aircraft operating along an ATS route, on an instrument approach procedure or in a d>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC