The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Aviation Fire Service (AFS) has awarded a single-award Indefinite Delivery Contract (IDC) to Bighorn Airways Inc., a small business, for exclusive use of a high-wing multiengine turboprop aircraft to support smokejumper fire suppression operations primarily at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, with potential operations in the Lower 48 states. The $10 million, 5-year IDC (April 2025 to March 2027) requires the contractor to provide an aircraft, personnel, and all associated equipment for transporting and dropping smokejumpers, paracargo operations, reconnaissance, search and rescue, and other resource management activities. Key requirements include a Standard Airworthiness Certificate, VFR/IFR certification, minimum 19 passenger seats, 85-knot stall speed, and the ability to operate from 3,500-foot runways.
This IDC was competed on an unrestricted basis under NAICS code 115310 with a $34 million size standard, allowing both small and large businesses to compete. The previous contract with Bighorn Airways, valued at $13.2 million, expired in December 2024. The new IDC will be an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with fixed unit prices and economic price adjustment for aircraft insurance, covering fire seasons in fiscal years 2025 and 2026 with an estimated 120-day exclusive use period annually from May to August.
Generated 3/1/25, 9:53 AM