Aero-Flite, Inc.

Aero-Flite, Inc., doing business as Aeroflite, is a foreign-owned, for-profit aviation services provider based in Spokane, Washington, that operates as a prime contractor delivering aerial firefighting and wildland fire management support services exclusively to federal agencies. The company competes predominantly full-and-open without set-aside restrictions on most delivery orders, though it holds significant small-business-set-aside positions on several foundational indefinite delivery vehicles (IDVs).

Aero-Flite specializes in large air tanker operations, aerial retardant deployment, water scooping aircraft, air attack platforms, heavy lift helicopter services, fire detection and mapping, and smokejumper transport across the Western United States. The company operates a specialized fleet of aircraft from three primary bases: Sunset Hill and Spokane in Washington, and Boise in Idaho. The federal award portfolio reflects a singular focus: aerial firefighting infrastructure supporting wildland fire suppression operations. Representative work includes a $43.2 million exclusive-use Q400 aerial firefighting delivery order through December 2030 under the Forest Service Airtanker Services 2023 IDIQ, three $48+ million exclusive-use airtanker mobilization orders through December 2028 (also under the 2023 IDIQ), and multiple $1.2–$2.3 million delivery orders for aerial firefighting support services issued monthly by the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC).

Customer concentration is extreme and by design: the Department of Agriculture Forest Service Fire and Aviation Management's National Interagency Fire Center accounts for 262 of 327 awards (80% of the total count) and $3.27 billion of the $3.38 billion combined potential value (97% of the total portfolio). The remaining customers—primarily the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management Idaho Region and Departmental Offices—represent the balance. This concentration reflects Aero-Flite's role as a mission-critical provider to a single customer facing seasonal and emergency wildfire response needs with highly specialized asset requirements.

Aero-Flite holds substantial IDV positions anchoring federal procurement. The $1.44 billion Forest Service Airtanker Services 2023 IDIQ (awarded January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2033) is a total small business set-aside multiple-award vehicle under which Aero-Flite has issued 28 task orders valued at $202.3 million in combined potential value; recent orders under this vehicle range from $72,000 short-duration orders to $43.2 million four-year exclusive-use arrangements. A $349.2 million Call-When-Needed Large Airtanker Services single-award contract (February 9, 2022–December 31, 2023, now expired) funded 176 task orders valued at $182.6 million. The $200 million Next Generation 2.0 Large Airtanker multiple-award IDIQ and the $100 million Next Generation Large Airtanker Services 3.0 IDIQ provide additional delivery-order vehicles through 2025 and 2028 respectively. A legacy $50 million EU Next Generation 1.0 Large Airtanker contract expired December 31, 2022.

Activity has remained consistent over the past five years: 44 awards in 2022, 49 in 2023, 48 in 2024, 55 in 2025, and 31 year-to-date in 2026 (as of June 23). The recompete cliff presents minimal near-term exposure; only 22 awards with completion dates in the next twenty-four months carry combined potential value of $16.5 million—a small fraction of the portfolio. However, the $1.44 billion Forest Service Airtanker Services 2023 IDIQ and the $349.2 million call-when-needed vehicle represent the structural foundation of recurring revenue; any recompete of these vehicles would be decision-critical.

SCI-reported invoiced revenue from prime service contracts above the $150,000 threshold totaled $359.9 million across FY2022–FY2023 (FY2024 records show zero FTEs reported, indicating a potential data lag or classification change). FY2022 invoicing ran $117.8 million across 54.6 FTEs; FY2023 jumped to $242.1 million across 103 FTEs—a 105% increase in dollars and a near-doubling of workforce. Government-paid median hourly rates on SCI-reportable contracts ran approximately $1,753/hr, with the 10th percentile at $824/hr and the 90th percentile at $2,371/hr, reflecting a mix of pilot, crew, maintenance, and overhead labor. Aero-Flite delivers all services with internal workforce; SCI records show zero subcontractor hour share across prime contracts.

Aero-Flite does not operate as a subcontractor in the federal market; all 327 awards carry prime contractor status. The company's business model is pure-play aerial firefighting services—it does not pursue contracts outside this specialized domain and has no named subcontractors recorded in the federal award history.