McDermott Aviation plans for Australian summer firefighting season
Have helis ... will travel. McDermott Aviation is bringing its firefighting assets back to Australia.
As Australia prepares for another hot and dry summer, McDermott Aviation’s firefighting helicopters have arrived back in Australia after completing an international deployment fighting fires in Greece.
A Boeing 747 carrying six McDermott Aviation helicopters landed at Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport, Queensland early on the morning of October 24th 2025, arriving from Athens.
Two Bell 214ST helicopters were offloaded in Toowoomba before being transported to McDermott Aviation’s Sunshine Coast base, where they will be reassembled and prepared for the Australian summer. The Boeing 747 then continued to Western Australia (WA), where four additional Bell 214B helicopters were unloaded and will be reassembled by McDermott’s WA based team in preparation for the state’s fire season.
“McDermott Aviation operates globally, but our heart is here in Australia,” said John McDermott, founder and president of McDermott Aviation.
“After supporting firefighting efforts across Europe, some of our crews and aircraft have returned home to strengthen our capability as we prepare to protect Australian communities this bushfire season.”
Four McDermott Aviation aircraft remain in Greece to continue search and rescue operations. The company is also preparing for future growth – with two Bell 214ST airframes from long-term storage in Australia now en route to its Alabama facility in the US for full refurbishment and fleet expansion.
The return of the helicopters came as authorities across several Australian states prepare for bushfires, with forecasts indicating dry conditions and above-average temperatures in many regions of the country.
“The return of these aircraft has bolstered our assets, allowing us to position them across Australia so that we are ready to respond wherever we are needed most,” McDermott said.
McDermott Aviation began on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland in 1982, Since then, the company has become Australia’s largest privately-owned helicopter company with more than 30 helicopters, it claims.
