Aero-Flite, Inc.

Aero-Flite, Inc., a foreign-owned, for-profit aviation services provider doing business as Aeroflite, operates as a prime contractor delivering specialized aerial firefighting and wildland fire management support exclusively to federal agencies, with the National Interagency Fire Center accounting for 82% of recent award volume and 97% of combined potential value across its portfolio. The company is headquartered in Spokane, Washington, with operational bases in Sunset Hill, Washington, and Boise, Idaho, and competes predominantly under the Total Small Business set-aside across its primary indefinite-delivery vehicle contracts.

Aero-Flite's capability portfolio centers on large air tanker operations, aerial retardant deployment, water scooping aircraft, air attack platforms, heavy lift helicopter services, fire detection and mapping, and smokejumper transport. The company operates a specialized fleet of aircraft and delivers all services with internal workforce, maintaining no subcontractor relationships on federal work. Representative work includes a $50.7 million exclusive-use airtanker mobilization through December 2028 issued June 9, 2026, under the Forest Service Airtanker Services 2023 IDIQ for large air tanker operations in Boise; a $43.2 million exclusive-use Q400 aerial firefighting delivery order also through December 2030 issued the same month; and monthly call-when-needed orders ranging from approximately $72 thousand to $3.62 million, predominantly from the National Interagency Fire Center for aerial firefighting support in Spokane and Boise.

The National Interagency Fire Center dominates customer concentration, representing 306 awards valued at $3.33 billion in combined potential value—97% of the portfolio's total dollar value. Secondary customers are minimal: the Bureau of Land Management Idaho Region placed 8 awards ($69.8 million), and the Bureau of Indian Affairs Mid-West Region, Interior Business Center, and Office of Policy Management and Budget together account for roughly 5 awards below $20 million combined. This extreme concentration reflects Aero-Flite's singular operational focus on federal wildland fire suppression.

Aero-Flite's primary parent vehicle is the Forest Service Airtanker Services 2023 IDIQ, a $1.44 billion total small business set-aside multiple-award contract running through December 31, 2033, against which the vendor has placed 56 task orders valued at $242.5 million combined potential value. The vendor also holds legacy vehicles including an indefinite-delivery contract (1202SA21T9007) with 193 task orders ($206.2 million combined potential), the Next Generation Large Airtanker Services 3.0 IDIQ ($100 million ceiling) with 10 task orders ($78.5 million), and smaller call-when-needed and next-generation airtanker vehicles. Recent activity shows strong growth: award volume increased from 44 in 2022 to 76 in 2026 year-to-date, with a combined potential value across all awards of $3.45 billion. Within the next 24 months, awards with ultimate completion dates between October 2026 and October 2028 represent substantial recompete exposure, particularly the exclusive-use and multi-year airtanker mobilizations valued at tens of millions of dollars each.

Service Contract Inventory data shows SCI-reportable invoiced revenue of $117.8 million in FY2022 and $242.1 million in FY2023, with reported FTE delivery of 54.6 and 103 respectively—reflecting seasonal wildfire-response staffing fluctuations. On federal services contracts captured in SCI, government-paid hourly rates ran around a median of $1,753/hr, with senior labor pricing through $2,371/hr and entry-level rates around $824/hr. SCI data ceased in FY2024, likely reflecting the vendor's transition to goods-focused contracting or reporting methodology shifts. Across SCI-reportable prime contracts, the vendor performed 100% of work with internal workforce and zero subcontractor hour-share, reinforcing its posture as a fully organic prime contractor.

Aero-Flite operates exclusively as a prime contractor with no subcontractor footprint and no identified teaming relationships. The company's business model centers on proprietary aircraft assets and direct federal relationships, particularly with NIFC. Foreign ownership is a structural characteristic present across the vendor's award portfolio and public filings, and does not constrain federal contracting eligibility under the Total Small Business set-aside vehicles the vendor holds.