The NSW Government is providing certainty for the state’s aerial bush firefighting capacity, with a new 10-year aviation contract signed by the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) that will boost local jobs and home-grown skills.

Coulson Aviation Australia, which has managed the majority of RFS aircraft for the past five years, has been awarded the contract to oversee the management, operation and maintenance of the entire RFS fleet for the next decade.

The fleet includes 11 aircraft ­- a 737 large air tanker, two Cessna Citations, six Bell-412 helicopters, a Chinook helicopter, and a Beechcraft Super King Air.

Under the new contract, the aircraft will be overseen by primarily Australian crews, in a shift that bolsters the local workforce and makes NSW more self-sufficient as bush fire seasons typically grow longer and more intense.

Building local fleet and aviation teams will minimize the need for aviation support from the company’s international personnel as the bush fire seasons in the northern and southern hemispheres increasingly overlap. The new contract will also help develop the next generation of aviation personnel in NSW, with an expansion of the apprenticeship program attached to the RFS fleet.  Providing training for local crews in advanced firefighting techniques will also ensure the community is better protected.