Forest Service Airtanker Services 2023
Active Master IDIQ Awarded
- Federal agency
-
National Interagency Fire Center
- Awardees
- 5
- Task orders
- 195
- Obligated
- $657,986,957
Vehicle facts
- Opportunity
-
- Airtanker Services 2023 - MATOC Pre-Solicitation · 1202SA23R9100 · Posted Oct 7, 2022
- Agency
-
- National Interagency Fire Center Fire and Aviation Management, Department of Agriculture
- Combined task order value
-
- $712,556,601 Current, with exercised options
- $1,132,851,495 Potential, with all options
- Last date to order 28% complete
- Shared ceiling 46% used
- $1,444,000,000.00
IDV award and task order details come from SAM.gov/FPDS.
About this vehicle
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service is procuring airtanker services under its Forest Service Airtanker Services 2023 Master IDIQ with a shared ceiling of $1.444 billion and ordering authority extending through December 31, 2033. This is a total small-business set-aside at the vehicle level.
Ordering activity has accelerated sharply. The Forest Service awarded 19 task orders in 2024, 31 in 2025, and 67 through mid-2026, signaling robust and growing demand. Of the $1.02 billion combined potential value across 117 awarded task orders, $535.7 million (52 percent) has been obligated. The vehicle still has seven years and five months of ordering authority remaining.
The work spans exclusive-use airtanker services (multi-year deployments with guaranteed aircraft availability) and call-when-needed tactical sorties for aerial retardant delivery in support of wildland fire suppression. Task orders are priced on a firm-fixed-price basis, with typical durations ranging from weeks to months for call-when-needed missions and multi-year terms for exclusive-use contracts. Recent exclusive-use awards carry ceilings ranging from $43 million to $60 million over four-year periods; call-when-needed orders typically range from $200,000 to $1.3 million per mission.
Five prime contractors hold all awards. Coulson Aviation (Usa), Inc. leads by potential value at $271.7 million across eight orders, followed by Aero-Flite, Inc. at $202.3 million (28 orders) and Aero Air, LLC at $197.9 million (35 orders). Neptune Aviation Services, Inc. holds 43 orders valued at $157.1 million combined potential, and 10 Tanker Air Carrier, LLC holds three orders worth $192.1 million. Competition is moderately concentrated; the top three firms by value account for roughly two-thirds of potential value, though by order count activity is more distributed across the five primes.
The Forest Service itself funds 116 of 117 orders ($1.02 billion combined potential). The Department of the Interior funded one call-when-needed order in 2026 valued at $4.6 million. About 69 percent of task orders carry total small-business set-aside designations; the remainder are unrestricted, reflecting the vehicle's overall small-business reserve structure. Performance occurs nationwide at airtanker bases mobilized according to fire seasons and suppression requirements.
IDV awards
Latest task orders
Show 15 more
Latest 25 of 195 listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Top awardees by obligations
| Rank | Awardee | Obligated | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aero-Flite, Inc. | $147,675,399 | 22% |
| 2 | Aero Air, LLC | $138,020,979 | 21% |
| 3 | Neptune Aviation Services, Inc. | $133,073,236 | 20% |
| 4 | Coulson Aviation (Usa), Inc. | $131,063,403 | 20% |
| 5 | 10 Tanker Air Carrier, LLC | $108,153,940 | 16% |
Top funding agencies by obligations
| Rank | Funding agency | Obligated | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Department of Agriculture | $645,924,760 | 98% |
| 2 | Department of the Interior | $12,062,197 | 2% |
Obligations by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Obligated |
|---|---|
| FY2027 To date | $2,435,035 |
| FY2026 | $308,078,637 |
| FY2025 | $177,353,310 |
| FY2024 | $170,970,129 |
Quick answers
What is the Forest Service Airtanker Services 2023 contract vehicle?
Forest Service Airtanker Services 2023 is an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract vehicle run by National Interagency Fire Center (Fire and Aviation Management), awarded on January 1, 2024.
Which companies hold Forest Service Airtanker Services 2023?
5 companies hold Forest Service Airtanker Services 2023's IDV awards, one each. The latest went to Aero Air, LLC on January 1, 2024. The awardees whose task orders obligated the most are Aero-Flite, Inc., Aero Air, LLC and Neptune Aviation Services, Inc.
How much has been spent through Forest Service Airtanker Services 2023?
195 task orders have been placed under Forest Service Airtanker Services 2023, obligating $657,986,957. Their combined current value, with exercised options, is $712,556,601.
What is the shared ceiling of Forest Service Airtanker Services 2023?
Forest Service Airtanker Services 2023's shared ceiling is $1,444,000,000; its task orders have used 46% of it.
Which agencies use Forest Service Airtanker Services 2023 the most?
The departments whose task orders under Forest Service Airtanker Services 2023 obligated the most are Department of Agriculture ($645,924,760) and Department of the Interior ($12,062,197).
How much was obligated through Forest Service Airtanker Services 2023 in fiscal year 2025?
Task orders under Forest Service Airtanker Services 2023 obligated $177,353,310 in fiscal year 2025.
On GovTribe
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