Global tracking service provider TracPlus has been selected by the State of California to provide full flight tracking and voice communication services across the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s (CAL FIRE) airborne firefighting fleet.
The fleet of more than 50 aircraft, which includes North American-Rockwell OV-10A, Bell UH-1H, Beechcraft King Air 200, and Grumman S-2T aircraft, will be fitted with Flightcell DZMx dual-mode tracking and voice devices supported through TracPlus’ full suite of end-to-end services. This will allow CAL FIRE to track its fleet at 15-second intervals over cellular networks, and automatically switch to a slower reporting rate over the Iridium satellite network where necessary.
This significant upgrade will also deliver a high level of detailed, real-time fire event data from bucket and tank systems.
“We are proud to have been chosen to provide these critical services in support of CAL FIRE’s mission,” said TracPlus Global’s chief innovation officer, Chris Hinch. “This contract builds on seven years of real-world experience in supporting airborne firefighting in Australia at state and federal levels. This decision reflects our unshakable commitment to delivering the very best in mission-critical support services to airborne emergency services worldwide.”
