Helistream Inc.

Helistream Inc., a woman-owned small business based in Costa Mesa, California, provides exclusive-use helicopter support services, flight training, and aerial operations to federal civilian agencies exclusively as a prime contractor with no subcontractor engagement. The vendor operates across multiple indefinite delivery contracts with the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), competing in full-and-open procurements without set-aside designations despite its woman-owned small business (WOSB) eligibility.

Helistream's customer concentration is stark: 87% of recent awards (by count) fund two agencies. The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) leads with 20 awards valued at $175.4 million in combined potential value, covering Type 1, 2, and 3 helicopter support services for wildland fire suppression, fire monitoring, and aerial operations across multiple California bases (Santa Ynez, Pollock Pines, Santa Cruz) with nationwide performance scope on federal lands. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) accounts for 18 awards valued at $159.2 million, concentrated in light enforcement helicopter pilot training delivered from Costa Mesa through August 2031. The Department of Homeland Security Chief Procurement Officer accounts for 7 additional awards valued at $55.4 million, and three agencies (Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, FAA Headquarters, and Forest Service) round out the remainder. The two customer rankings track closely — NIFC and CBP dominate both volume and dollars, reflecting a narrow customer base anchored to fire management and law enforcement aviation.

Helistream holds five primary parent indefinite delivery vehicles: Type 1 Helicopter Support Services 2025-2034 (7 task orders, $3 million combined potential value), Indefinite Delivery Contract HSBP1014D00015 (6 task orders, $18.8 million), IDIQ 70B02C21D00000002 for CBP light enforcement helicopter training (5 task orders, $27.4 million), HSBP1010D00003 (5 task orders, $38.3 million), and Basic Ordering Agreement 12024B20G5031 (4 task orders, $3.5 million). Recent representative work includes a $3.268 million CBP delivery order for light enforcement helicopter aircraft pilot training running through August 2031; a $4.748 million NIFC delivery order for Type II exclusive-use helicopter support in Pollock Pines through December 2028; a $6.3 million NIFC order for Type II exclusive-use services in Santa Ynez and Santa Maria through December 2028; and seven NIFC delivery orders under Type 1 services ranging from $321,074 to $555,815 in the past quarter.

Portfolio composition reflects mission specialization: 34 awards cluster under Flight Training (NAICS 541512), 20 under Nonscheduled Chartered Freight Air Transportation, and 3 under Nonscheduled Chartered Passenger Air Transportation. By PSC, 25 awards align with Education/Training—Other, 21 with Natural Resources/Conservation—Forest-Range Fire Suppression/Presuppression, and 5 with Education/Training—Vocational/Technical. Helistream's 60 total awards carry a combined potential value of $392.4 million, with $112.9 million (29%) obligated to date.

Activity accelerated sharply in 2026: the vendor recorded 9 awards so far this year (most recent on September 16, 2026) against 2 in 2025, 6 in 2024, 2 in 2023, and 4 in 2022. This trajectory reflects steady expansion of NIFC Type 1 delivery orders and sustained CBP pilot training demand. No recompete cliff materializes in the next twenty-four months from the source data; instead, multiple NIFC Type 2 and 3 contracts extend through 2028–2032 with multi-million-dollar ceilings, establishing a stable long-term customer relationship.

Service Contract Inventory data captures only a slice of Helistream's federal footprint. SCI-reportable invoicing totaled $9.5 million across four fiscal years (FY2022–FY2025), with $3.8 million in FY2022, $3.7 million in FY2023, $2 million in FY2024, and zero in FY2025. The SCI dataset shows roughly 2.1 FTEs delivered in FY2022, declining to 1.9 FTEs in FY2023, 1.1 in FY2024, and zero in FY2025 — reflecting the fact that SCI captures service contracts above the $150,000 threshold and excludes goods procurement, aircraft operations, and other revenue streams that dominate Helistream's actual federal delivery. On the service contracts captured in SCI, government-paid rates ran around $869/hr median, with the 10th percentile at $864.54/hr and the 90th percentile at $927.36/hr. The vendor reports zero sub-hours share across prime contracts, confirming its full in-house delivery model and exclusive prime posture. Helistream operates no subcontractor relationships and accepts no subcontract awards in its award population.

helicopter services to include flight training, aerial photography, charters, external load, fire fighting, utility, powerline, high voltage transmission line patrol & maintenance, film production, aerial survey and wire pulling, nvg, aerial crane