Bridger Aerospace is an American aerospace company which provides
aerial firefighting
Aerial may refer to:
Music
* ''Aerial'' (album), by Kate Bush
* ''Aerials'' (song), from the album ''Toxicity'' by System of a Down
Bands
*Aerial (Canadian band)
* Aerial (Scottish band)
* Aerial (Swedish band)
Performance art
* Aerial sil ...
and
wildfire management services.
At the
Martin Fire in Nevada in 2018, it was the first private company to legally fly a
drone
Drone most commonly refers to:
* Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg
* Unmanned aerial vehicle
* Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft
* Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone
Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to:
...
over a wildfire.
History
The company was founded in 2014 by Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL who utilized airborne surveillance during the Global War on Terror and desired to apply that same capability to public safety tasks. Initially, Sheehy operated one plane to assist ranchers with tracking their cattle from the air.
Starting in the 2015 wildfire season, he shifted the company's focus to aerial firefighting.
In 2018, Bridger was one of four companies
awarded a contract with the
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...
to use drones in emergency situations, including wildfires.
Under the contract, the company was granted permission to fly a drone over a wildfire. It became the first private company to legally do so when it used its drones to fly over wildfires during the Martin Fire in Nevada, mapping 435,000 acres of burned land in 11 flight runs.
[
By August 2019 the company had grown to a fleet of 20 aircraft and a staff of 100.]COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. The company also manufactured face shields that it donated to frontline workers and used its fleet to deliver PPE to medical personnel in Montana.
Bridger was the launch customer for the De Havilland CL-415EAF Firefighting Aircraft.
In January 2023, Bridger went public via SPAC Merger at a valuation of $869mm. It currently trades under NASDAQ: BAER
Operations
The company is headquartered in Belgrade, Montana
Belgrade is a city in Gallatin County, Montana, United States. The population was 10,460 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city in Montana that is not a county seat.
Belgrade and surrounding areas are experiencing significant population gro ...
, and provides its aerial fire fighting services to government agencies including the United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...
in states across the U.S.[ Its planes are used for fire suppression and it uses unmanned aerial vehicles to map and provide surveillance of fires.]
Fleet
As of 2021, the company's fleet includes over 20 aircraft, including:
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridger Aerospace
Wildfire prevention
Aerospace companies of the United States
Companies based in Montana
Aerial firefighting
Belgrade, Montana