Bridger Aerospace is an American aerospace company which provides

aerial firefighting Aerial firefighting, also known as waterbombing, is the use of aircraft and other aerial resources to Wildfire suppression, combat wildfires. The types of aircraft used include fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Smokejumpers and rappellers ar ...

and wildfire management services. The company has supported firefighting efforts in 24 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. In January 2023, Bridger went public via SPAC merger with a valuation of $869 million. The company has not been profitable since going public.

History

The company was founded in 2014 by

Tim Sheehy Timothy Patrick Sheehy (; born November 18, 1985) is an American politician, businessman, Aerial firefighting, aerial firefighter, and former United States Navy SEALs, Navy SEAL serving as the United States Senator, junior United States senator ...

, a former

Navy SEAL The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the United States Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main funct ...

who utilized airborne surveillance during his service. Initially, Sheehy operated one plane to assist ranchers with tracking their cattle from the air. He shifted the company's focus to aerial firefighting during the 2015 wildfire season. 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 an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation ...

to use drones in emergency situations, including during wildfires. It became the first private company to legally use drones for wildfire fighting during the

Martin Fire Martin Fire was a wildfire in northern Nevada, United States, that started on Monday, July 5, 2018. The fire burned a total area of 439,230 acres. It was the largest fire in Nevada's history, and one of the biggest in the U.S. The blaze destroye ...

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. In March 2020, Bridger Aerospace offered its fleet to healthcare workers for moving supplies and patients as a response to the global

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The company also manufactured face shields that it donated to frontline workers and used its fleet to deliver other personal protection equipment to medical personnel throughout Montana. Bridger was the launch customer for the De Havilland CL-415EAF Firefighting Aircraft. In 2024, Tim Sheehy resigned as CEO to focus on his candidacy in the U.S. Senate election in Montana, which he later won. On Monday, March 17th, Sam Davis was appointed CEO by the Board of Directors. Prior to his appointment, Davis served as Interim CEO following Sheehy's resignation in July 2024.https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/bridger-aerospace-appoints-sam-davis-chief-executive-officer-1034483077

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, and was estimated to be 12,509 in 2023. Belgrade is part of the Bozeman, MT Metropolitan statistical area. It is the most populous ci ...

and provides aerial firefighting services to government agencies, including the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...

, across the U.S. Its planes are used for fire suppression and it uses unmanned aerial vehicles to map and provide surveillance of fires. The drones provide fire crews with information including infrared imagery of active fires, and support communication with and tracking of firefighters on the ground.

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