Bridger Aerospace Group (NASDAQ:BAER) outlined its growth strategy, fleet expansion plans and efforts to build more predictable revenue through longer-duration firefighting contracts during the Noble Capital Markets Virtual Equity Conference.
President and CEO Sam Davis said the company’s aerial firefighting business centers on delivering water, aerial intelligence, aircraft modifications and integration services. Its revenue mix last year was approximately 65% suppression services, 17% modifications and integration, and 15% surveillance, according to Davis.
Super Scooper Fleet and Unmet Demand
Bridger’s core firefighting assets are its Super Scooper aircraft, which can collect water from open bodies of water and deploy it over fires. The company owns eight Super Scoopers, including six based in the United States. Davis said there are 10 such aircraft in the U.S. overall.
According to Davis, the company acquired two additional Scoopers from the Spanish military last year and plans to bring them into U.S. service. The planes operated for part of the year in Portugal under a dry lease arrangement because they were not brought into the U.S. in time for equipment installation and certification.
Davis said demand continues to exceed available capacity. He stated that nearly half of requests for Super Scoopers and some surveillance aircraft went unmet, largely because the aircraft were already assigned to other high-priority locations. During the most recent fire season, he said the company’s Scoopers changed bases more than 90 times as fires occurred simultaneously in states including Washington, Utah, Arizona and California.
The CEO described the aircraft as particularly suited for early and direct attack on fires. He said a Super Scooper can collect about 1,400 gallons of water in roughly 12 seconds and can continue making drops until it needs fuel. Davis contrasted that capability with conventional tankers, which must return to a tanker base to refill with retardant.
He said the average market value of a returned-to-service, near-zero-time Super Scooper is about $35 million, while the next-generation DHC-515 has a stated price of approximately $60 million. Production of the newer model has restarted, but Davis said deliveries through the 2030s have already been allocated to countries and provinces.
Contract Visibility and Financial Outlook
Davis said Bridger has shifted from call-when-needed work toward contracts with guaranteed operating days. For 2026, the company has four Super Scoopers on 160-day task orders in the U.S., while its two Spanish-acquired aircraft had 90-day task orders in Portugal.
Longer contracts provide a clearer floor for availability revenue and can increase utilization and margins by placing aircraft in the field for more days, Davis said. The company is paid through daily availability rates and flight-hour rates determined by customers.
Fuel costs for Super Scoopers on contract are passed through to the government, Davis said. On the Air Attack side of the business, the company accounts for expected fuel inflation and uses volume fuel contracts where available.
Bridger reported adjusted EBITDA of $45 million last year and said it is on track for adjusted EBITDA of $55 million to $60 million this year. Davis said the company expects the increased earnings profile to support free cash flow and help it grow into the capital structure it used to build its fleet and operating infrastructure.
Sensor-Enhanced Aircraft, Software and Texas Opportunity
Beyond water-dropping operations, Bridger is expanding its fleet of sensor-enhanced aircraft. Davis said the company introduced a King Air aircraft equipped with sensors for thermal detection, real-time video, perimeter mapping and command-and-control missions. The aircraft uses Starlink for data downlinks, according to the presentation.
The company is pairing those aircraft with proprietary software that delivers aerial intelligence to users through desktop and mobile applications. Davis said firefighters can access incident imagery by scanning a QR code, and the platform attracted approximately 30,000 users shortly after its launch, most of them firefighters.
Davis also discussed a $58 million award from the Texas A&M Forest Service. He said Texas sought aviation platforms after facing instances in which federal firefighting assets were unavailable or assigned elsewhere. Bridger plans to work with Textron on aircraft configurations and provide its software as part of the effort. The company also intends to pursue follow-on service work.
Looking internationally, Davis said private contracting for wildfire response is beginning to create opportunities outside the U.S. He identified technology platforms as the easiest part of Bridger’s offering to deploy internationally, while noting that the company currently sees strong U.S. economics and demand for its Scoopers.
On capital allocation, Davis said the company’s immediate priority is investment in contracted aircraft growth, including additional Scoopers, water-scooping solutions and technology installations. He added that acquisition opportunities may also emerge in what he characterized as a fragmented industry.
About Bridger Aerospace Group (NASDAQ:BAER)
Bridger Aerospace Group is an aerial firefighting and aviation services company headquartered in Bozeman, Montana. The company provides wildfire suppression services primarily to federal, state and local government agencies, helping protect communities, natural resources and critical infrastructure during wildfire events.
Bridger Aerospace operates a specialized aircraft fleet that includes firefighting airtankers and amphibious aircraft used to deliver water or retardant to active fires.
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