Guardian Helicopters Inc.

Guardian Helicopters Inc., a for-profit Subchapter S corporation based in Fillmore, California, operates a federal helicopter fleet providing aerial firefighting, wildland fire suppression, emergency response, wildlife survey, and related aerial services to civilian federal agencies as a prime contractor (100% of awards). The vendor competes predominantly full-and-open and under total small business set-asides; across recent awards, set-aside designations cluster around Bureau of Land Management wild horse and burro census work and select Type 2 surge contracts, while the largest and most frequent awards—particularly from the National Interagency Fire Center and Interior Business Center—carry no set-aside.

Guardian Helicopters' customer base concentrates heavily on Department of Agriculture and Department of Interior missions. The National Interagency Fire Center (Forest Service Fire and Aviation Management) accounts for 54 awards and $168.1 million of combined potential value, representing roughly 51% of the vendor's federal footprint. The Interior Business Center follows with 7 awards and $83.8 million potential value, anchored by a $49.5 million five-year On-Call Type III Helicopter Flight Services BPA awarded in May 2022 and an $11 million single-award BPA for Type III services supporting animal capture, eradication, and wild horse and burro programs awarded in May 2025. The Bureau of Land Management Idaho Region places 23 awards valued at $28.3 million, while the Nevada Region contributes 8 awards at $402 thousand. These five agencies account for 74% of awards by count and 98% of combined potential value, reflecting deep concentration in Interior Department wildland aviation and Forest Service fire suppression missions across the western United States.

The vendor holds multiple large indefinite delivery vehicles anchoring the portfolio. The Helicopter Support Services - Type 2 IDIQ with the National Interagency Fire Center carries a $50 million ceiling through December 31, 2033, with 7 recent task orders valued at $9.2 million combined. The Type 3 Helicopter Support Services 2023–2032 IDIQ, also with NIFC, holds a $40 million ceiling and supports fire suppression and prescribed-fire missions; recent delivery orders include a $2.324 million Prescott, Arizona contract through December 2028 and smaller recurring task orders. The On-Call Type III Helicopter Flight Services 2022–2027 BPA from Interior Business Center ($49.5 million) is a total small business multiple-award vehicle supporting fire, search and rescue, law enforcement surveillance, and resource activities across the continental United States, with delivery orders issued to Idaho Region (Vale, Oregon), National Park Service Pacific West Region (Three Rivers, California), and BLM Nevada Region (North Las Vegas and Pioche, Nevada). A newer $11 million single-award Type III BPA from Interior Business Center for aerial capture, eradication, and wild horse and burro programs runs May 2025 through April 2030. Basic Ordering Agreements 12024B20G5021 and 1202SA21G5509 support surge and extended helicopter operations, with 18 and 15 task orders respectively generating $5.5 million and $1.6 million combined value.

Activity trajectory shows substantial volume in 2022–2023 (24 and 28 awards respectively) followed by a steeper decline to 6 awards each in 2024, 2025, and 2026 (most recent). This pattern reflects heavy reliance on seasonal fire suppression task orders under umbrella IDIQs and BPAs; when fire seasons moderate or task order cadence slows, recorded award count drops. However, the recompete cliff is minimal—only one award ($10 thousand) completes within the next twenty-four months—signaling that large parent IDVs (the $50 million Type 2, $40 million Type 3, and $49.5 million Type III vehicles) do not face recompete or expiration pressure in that window. The combined potential value of $326.3 million reflects the IDV ceiling architecture; obligated dollars stand at $55.1 million (17% of potential), consistent with the vendor's partial utilization of its framework vehicles.

Service Contract Inventory data shows modest federal services activity captured above the $150,000 threshold. SCI-reportable invoicing totaled $2.3 million across FY2022–FY2024, with $1.8 million in FY2022 (0.8 FTEs) and $516 thousand in FY2024 (0.6 FTEs). FY2023 carried zero SCI-reportable invoicing, reflecting the absence of longer-duration service contracts in that fiscal year. On federal services contracts captured in SCI, government-paid rates ran a median around $424.72 per hour, with senior labor pricing reaching the 90th percentile at $1,086.02 per hour. The vendor reports zero subcontractor hours across SCI-reportable prime contracts, indicating direct delivery of flight crew and aircraft operations without material reliance on named subs. Guardian Helicopters operates Type I, II, and III rotorcraft meeting FAA and federal agency equipment standards, with place of performance spanning Fillmore and Lancaster, California; Prescott and Yuma, Arizona; Vale, Oregon; Pioche, Nevada; and other western locations supporting active fire and resource missions. The vendor maintains SAM.gov registration dating to 2004, and the award portfolio spans deliveries from 2000 through June 2026.