What changed in this filing

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Item 1. Business

2026-03-06 compared with 2025-03-14 · 197 added, 143 removed, 150 unchanged (69% of the section changed)

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Bridger provides aerial wildfire surveillance, relief and suppression, and aerial firefighting services using next-generation technology and environmentally friendly and sustainable firefighting methods primarily throughout the United States, as well as airframe modification and integration solutions for governmental and commercial customers.

Our mission is to save lives, property and habitats threatened by wildfires, leveraging our high-quality team, specialized aircraft and innovative use of technology and data.

We are meeting an underserved and growing need for next-generation full-service aerial firefighting platforms.

Bridger was founded by our former Chief Executive Officer, former Navy SEAL officer and current United States Senator Timothy Sheehy, in Bozeman, Montana in 2014 with one aircraft and a vision to build a global enterprise to fight wildfires.

Bridger has since grown into a full-spectrum aerial firefighting service provider in the U.S.

and in the field of aerial wildfire management, offering technology and services to provide front-line firefighters and fire suppression decision-makers access to key fire data in order to effectively combat wildfires.

Our mission is to deploy the most advanced technologies in aviation to protect lives, property, critical infrastructure, and the environment, delivering these capabilities where they are needed most, from wildfire response to defense and beyond.

Through innovation and the use of advanced technology and software, focusing on aerial firefighting, disaster response, government applications and public safety, Bridger aims to set the global standard in aviation services.

Bridger was founded in 2014 in Bozeman, Montana by Tim Sheehy, former U.S.

Navy SEAL officer and current United States Senator.

Sheehy, who served as the Company’s initial Chief Executive Officer, envisioned applying advanced aviation technologies and combat-derived capabilities developed in military operations to combat wildfires.

Since its founding, Bridger has built upon this foundation and is expanding its specialized aerial capabilities beyond traditional wildfire suppression to include mission-adjacent services for governmental and commercial customers.

On January 24, 2023, Bridger completed a reverse recapitalization (the “Reverse Recapitalization”) with Jack Creek Investment Corp.

As a result of the Reverse Recapitalization, Bridger and its subsidiaries prior to the consummation of the Reverse Recapitalization (“Legacy Bridger”) and JCIC each became wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Company.

As of December 31, 2024, the Company has a team of 191 employees and has developed an ecosystem of solutions, services and technologies supporting firefighting ground crews and the public.

According to an article on Climate Change Indicators by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, multiple studies have found that “climate change has already led to an increase in wildfire season length, wildfire frequency and burned area,” “climate change threatens to increase the frequency, extent and severity of fires through increased temperatures and drought” and wildfires release a significant amount of carbon emissions each year.

The areas in which human development meets or intermingles with undeveloped wildland and vegetative fuels that are both fire-dependent and fire-prone (“wildland-urban interface” or “WUI”) have grown by more than 179,000 square kilometers in the U.S.

from 1990 to 2020, according to a 2023 article by the United States Forest Service (the “USFS” and, such article, the “USFS WUI Increase Article”).

WUI areas, which comprise 9.4% of the U.S.

land area, now include nearly one-third of all residences, according to the USFS WUI Increase Article.

At the same time, the average annual acres burned per fire between 1985 and 2023 have increased more than twofold according to data published by the National Interagency Fire Center (the “NIFC”).

As the WUI areas continue to grow and wildfires grow larger, more aggressive firefighting strategies are necessary to ensure public safety.

These trends have led the U.S.

federal government to increase spending on fire suppression, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.0%, since 1985 to $3.2 billion in 2023, according to the NIFC Suppression Costs Data.

Even with this increased spending and demand, unfulfilled requests for fixed wing aircraft for aerial firefighting grew at a compound annual growth rate of 3.8% between 2002 and 2023, with 574 unfulfilled requests in 2023, according to National Interagency Coordination Center (“NICC”).

Amid raging wildfires and changing climate, we use sustainable and environmentally friendly firefighting methods.

By sourcing water near the fire for our fire suppression services, we minimize harm to the local water system by keeping water in the local ecology and reducing flight time between scoops and drops.

Bridger’s management estimates that aerial suppression spend represented approximately 42.7% of an estimated $21.9 billion firefighting market (defined as the sum of air-based suppression, ground and fire data, aerial imagery-related and emergency mobile application markets) globally in 2021.

There is a rapidly growing global need for fire suppression assets, and Bridger’s management believes that a shift away from ground services to air-based suppression has already commenced.

The market is anticipated to continue to expand as wildfires rage across Europe and the U.S.

As a result of the Reverse Recapitalization, Bridger and its subsidiaries prior to the consummation of the Reverse Recapitalization and JCIC each became wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Company.

The current Chief Executive Officer, Sam Davis, was one of the original members of the Bridger leadership team.

Davis rose through the ranks, contributing to the expansion of the fleet from a small number of legacy aircraft to its current scale and the broadening of the Company’s service offerings.

Following Mr.

Sheehy’s election to the United States Senate in 2024, Mr.

Davis was appointed Chief Executive Officer by unanimous Board of Directors vote based on his successful leadership as Interim CEO.

Davis’s stewardship, and with the support of a strong leadership team, the Company continues to pave the way as a full-spectrum aerial service provider in the field of aerial wildfire management, offering technology and services to provide front-line firefighters and incident commanders with critical fire data, overhead surveillance, and suppression support.

As of December 31, 2025, the Company has a team of 235 employees headquartered in Belgrade, Montana.

The Company’s workforce includes pilots, maintenance personnel, engineers, developers, and support staff who provide aerial wildfire surveillance, suppression and related services, as well as customized airframe modification and integration solutions.

Business Description

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Fire Suppression :

Consists of deploying specialized Viking CL-415EAF (“Super Scooper”) aircraft to drop large amounts of water quickly and directly on wildfires.

Consists of deploying CL-415EAF (“Super Scooper”) aircraft to drop large amounts of water as part of the initial and direct attack to slow, contain, and extinguish wildfires.

Aerial Surveillance :

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Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (“MRO”) :

Consists of maintenance and repair services for return-to-service upgrades of certain Canadair CL-215T Amphibious (“Spanish Scoopers”) aircraft as well as airframe modification and integration solutions for governmental and commercial customers.

Consists of maintenance and repair services for return-to-service upgrades of certain Canadair CL-215 Amphibious (“Spanish Scoopers”) aircraft as well as airframe modification and integration solutions for governmental and commercial customers.

Fire Suppression

We provide direct fire suppression aerial firefighting support for ground crews by operating the Super Scoopers.

Aerial fire suppression is provided in conjunction with traditional ground firefighting approaches, and specialized aircraft drop high volumes of water directly onto active wildfires.

Because wildfires largely occur within close proximity to a major water source, leveraging readily available resources is more time- and fuel-efficient in combating wildfires when time is of the essence.

The Super Scoopers allow for rapid delivery of water strikes to extinguish wildfires, particularly when deployed in tandem or larger groups to allow for continuous water delivery as aircraft return to the water source.

We provide direct aerial firefighting support for ground crews by operating Super Scoopers.

These specialized amphibious aircraft drop high volumes of water directly onto active wildfires, complementing traditional ground-based suppression efforts.

Many wildfires occur near major water sources, making it more time- and fuel-efficient to deploy Super Scoopers.

Aerial Surveillance

Wildfires can spread quickly and change course in an instant.

Wildfires can spread quickly and change course very rapidly.

Our aerial surveillance services provide decision-makers rapid, current intelligence from useful aerial vantage points, giving them access to key information to support more effective deployment of ground firefighters and improved safety for the public at large.

Our aerial surveillance services leverage Air Attack aircraft.

We have eight years of experience in providing USFS Type 1 Air Tactical Group Supervisors (“ATGS”), and the aerial platform to relay the necessary information, to ground-based Interagency Incident Commanders (“Incident Commanders”), who are responsible for the overall management of the wildfire and determine how resources are deployed.

We are one of the largest ATGS platform providers in the U.S.

Our aerial surveillance services leverage Air Attack aircraft and sensor-enhanced manned aircraft for early detection, perimeter mapping, real-time video downlink, and command and control.

We have nine years of experience in providing U.S.

Forest Service (“USFS”) Type 1 Air Tactical Group Supervisors (“ATGS”), and the related aerial platform, to relay the necessary information, to ground-based Interagency Incident Commanders (“Incident Commanders”), who are responsible for the overall management of the wildfire and determine how resources are deployed.

We are one of the largest air tactical group platform providers in the U.S.

and have contracts covering 100% of the U.S.

We provide maintenance and repair services for return-to-service upgrades of the Spanish Scoopers as well as airframe modification and integration solutions for governmental and commercial customers.

We deploy modern technology to track and attack wildfires and have an expansive fleet of specialized firefighting aircraft stationed in three hangars at the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport in Belgrade, Montana.

Our aircraft form the basis of our service offerings and, as such, we strive to continually invest in advancements in aerial firefighting platforms.

We continually invest in our fleet to expand our capabilities while assessing opportunities to acquire next-generation firefighting assets to combat the rising threat of wildfires.

We currently operate an aircraft fleet of sixteen planes, comprised of the following:

• Six Super Scoopers;

• Three Twin Commanders;

Our Multi-Mission Aircraft (“MMA”) are purpose-configured to support modern wildfire and government operations, delivering persistent aerial intelligence, command and control, and real-time situational awareness across unpredictable fire environments.

Equipped with advanced sensors and communications systems, MMA enable early detection, fire behavior monitoring, and coordinated response, linking air and ground resources with actionable, time sensitive information.

Our integrated software capabilities (“Ignis”) further elevate the MMA capability by transforming airborne sensor data into real-time, incident-ready intelligence.

Beyond providing real-time data, Ignis delivers a complete operational solution, streaming live video, geo-referenced imagery, and interactive mapping over Starlink directly into the incident workspace for immediate access via web and mobile devices.

We provide maintenance and repair services for return-to-service upgrades of the Spanish Scoopers.

We also provide turnkey aerospace engineering services, including operations support, aircraft modification, and airworthiness certification for manned and unmanned, rotary- and fixed-wing platforms.

These solutions serve both our own aircraft and governmental/commercial customers as a full integration package.

The Company deploys modern technology for real-time surveillance, data collection, and mission execution to support wildfire suppression as well as broader emergency response and resource management operations.

Bridger maintains an expansive fleet of specialized firefighting aircraft primarily stationed in three hangars at the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport in Belgrade, Montana.

These aircraft form the foundation of the Company’s service offerings.

Bridger continually invests in fleet expansion and modernization to enhance operational capabilities across diverse mission profiles, including wildfire suppression and other emergency and governmental aerial operations,

We currently operate an aircraft fleet of nineteen planes, comprised of the following:

• Eight Super Scoopers

◦ Six Super Scoopers (which operate primarily in North America, primarily in the United States of America);

◦ Two Spanish Scoopers (acquired in December 2025);

• Four Daher Kodiak 100s (“Daher Kodiaks”);

• Three Pilatus PC-12 (“Pilatus”) (one owned and two leased).

• Four Pilatus PC-12 (“Pilatus”) (three owned and one leased);

• Two Beechcraft King Air 350 (“King Air”);

• One Twin Commander (“Twin Commander”).

Super Scooper Fleet

The Super Scooper is the only aircraft designed and built to fight fires and can fly more aggressively in extreme terrains than all other aircraft with equal or greater water capacity.

The Super Scooper is the only aircraft designed and built to fight wildfires and can fly more aggressively in extreme terrains than all other aircraft with equal or greater water capacity.

The Super Scooper is an amphibious aircraft that skims the surface of a body of water to scoop water into onboard tanks to drop on a fire.

The specific design of the Super Scooper allows for an aggressive low-altitude flight profile, which enables pilots to deliver their drops with more precision, hitting the fire harder and extinguishing it faster.

Super Scoopers can scoop up to 1,412 gallons of water in approximately 12 seconds, and with 90% of wildfires within 20 miles of a major water source (see graph below), Super Scoopers provide an extremely effective tool to economically and expeditiously deliver water to a fire without having to return to an airport to refill the water tanks.

Super Scoopers can scoop up to 1,412 gallons of water in approximately 12 seconds, and historically with 90% of wildfires within 20 miles of a major water source (see graph below), Super Scoopers provide an extremely effective tool to economically deliver large amounts of water to a fire without having to return to an airport to refill the water tanks.

With a water source within a five-mile radius, the Super Scooper can drop on its target up to every seven minutes for a total of approximately 35 drops, or 50,000 gallons of water, before needing to refuel.

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2012 Air Attack Against Wildfire Study by the Rand Homeland Security and Defense Center.

The Super Scooper aircraft has an excellent safety record, direct support from the original equipment manufacturer (the “OEM”), short take-off and landing capabilities (“STOL”) and a multi-crew flight deck.

The Super Scooper aircraft has an excellent safety record, short take-off and landing capabilities (“STOL”) and a multi-crew flight deck.

The Super Scooper has a cruising speed of 207 miles per hour.

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We have never been assessed with any safety violations and/or citations, nor have any of our aircraft, including our Super Scooper aircraft, ever been involved in any crashes or serious injuries.

We have also adopted a safety management system (“SMS”) designed to reduce the likelihood of safety-related issues arising in the course of our overall operations.

The SMS program has been audited by both the Federal Aviation Administration (the “FAA”) and the USFS.

Our operations are governed by a comprehensive Safety Management System (“SMS”) specifically designed to proactively identify and mitigate risk, which has been formally audited by both the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”), third party auditors, the USFS, and the Department of Interior (“DOI”).

Furthermore, the Super Scooper has the ability to operate from smaller airports with runways as short as 2,500 feet in length while larger jet-powered aerial firefighting aircraft often need a runway of at least 4,000 feet in length.

The Super Scooper is capable of scooping water in 12 seconds from bodies of water of 4,400 feet or more in length and can empty the water load in 3 seconds in one drop or split the drop into two.

The Super Scooper’s water tank capacity is shown in the table below:

Volume Weight

Liters Imp Gal U.S.

2,673 588 706 2,722 6,000

Total both tanks

5,346 1,176 1,412 5,443 12,000

A summary graphic of the Super Scooper and its efficiency in collecting water is provided below.

United States Department of Agriculture Amphibious Water Scooper Aircraft Operations Plan 2016.

Air Attack Fleet

Aerial Surveillance Fleet

Our Air Attack fleet provides high level situational awareness of fire growth, ground firefighting elements, other aircraft within the fire traffic area, and changing weather conditions to Incident Commanders.

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Our Air Attack fleet is suitable for STOL, allowing for deployment in a greater range of scenarios.

A high level of reliability allows the aircraft to be serviced and available for contract for more days, with fewer unscheduled in-field maintenance events.

A high level of reliability allows the aircraft to be serviced and available on contract for more days, with fewer unscheduled in-field maintenance events.

Above active wildfires, the aircraft can maintain the fuel efficiency required to loiter for four to seven hours with slow and stable flight characteristics, offering the ATGS greater visibility.

Our newest platform, the King Air, gives us greater speed, higher payload, and greater distance for multi-mission work.

The introduction of this platform to our fleet was strategic as a next generation platform to service larger capacity to match the trends in progressive wildfire management.

Bridger is using its internal capabilities to stay on the leading edge with its sensor enhanced aircraft taking mission specific aircraft configurations and delivering critical data real-time to manage wildfire effectively.

Our MMA fleet delivers persistent aerial intelligence that enhances wildfire detection, monitoring, and coordination across the incident lifecycle.

Equipped with advanced sensing, mapping, and communications systems, MMA provide Incident Command with real-time visibility into fire behavior, perimeter growth, heat signatures, weather influences, and resource movement, well beyond line-of-sight limitations.

Designed for long endurance and stable loiter profiles, these aircraft remain on station for extended periods, continuously feeding actionable intelligence to air and ground decision-makers.

Their modular architecture allows rapid adaptation to evolving mission needs, making MMA a force multiplier for initial attack, extended operations, and large-fire management while improving safety, efficiency, and operational outcomes.

Key Market Drivers and Opportunities

There are several key market drivers and opportunities for our business, including:

Longer and more severe fire seasons drive demand for fire suppression and aerial surveillance services

Recent legislation supporting fleet expansion and modernization

The Aerial Firefighting Enhancement Act of 2025, signed into law in June 2025, reauthorizes the Department of War to sell excess aircraft and parts for wildfire suppression purposes through 2035, expanding allowable uses to include water delivery in addition to fire retardant.

This legislation directly facilitates access to cost-effective aircraft assets, creating opportunities for private operators like Bridger to acquire and integrate next-generation platforms, thereby expanding capacity to meet rising demand for efficient suppression methods.

Budgetary and structural shifts in federal wildfire management

The proposed consolidation of federal wildfire programs under the U.S.

Wildland Fire Service (“USWFS”) within the DOI, as outlined in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget requests from DOI and the U.S.

Department of Agriculture (“USDA”), aims to unify suppression, preparedness, and mitigation efforts across agencies.

While Congress did not approve full funding for integrating USFS programs (under USDA) into DOI in the FY2026 appropriations, the initiative has advanced within DOI, unifying its internal wildfire operations (e.g., the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S.

Fish and Wildfire Service) under USWFS.

This partial shift, supported by an Executive Order in June 2025 and Secretary Order 3443 in September 2025, streamlines coordination and could increase contracting opportunities for private aerial providers as federal agencies prioritize efficient, technology-enabled responses.

Additionally, sustained funding for wildfire suppression (e.g., $1.39 billion for operations and $2.85 billion for the Wildfire Suppression Operations Reserve Fund in FY2026) underscores opportunities for expanded governmental missions, including surveillance and resource management beyond traditional wildfire suppression.

Federal and state funding for wildfire control

National funding for wildfire management is appropriated by Congress, and each state pays for wildland firefighting slightly differently.

While fire suppression activities on wildlands in the U.S.

are financed through federal funds, budget-making processes may restrict the amount allocated.

According to the National Interagency Fire Center (“NIFC”) Suppression Costs Data, the average annual federal government fire suppression spending was $3.0 billion for the five-year period from 2019 to 2023, an increase of 28%, compared to $2.3 billion of average annual spending for the previous five-year period from 2014 to 2018.

In addition, federal wildland fire management funding nationwide increased from about $6.2 billion in 2024 to roughly $7.3 billion in 2025, reflecting higher appropriations for both the USFS and the DOI to support wildfire suppression, preparedness, and fuels management.

The funding is allocated to the DOI and the USFS.

Our company then enters into short, medium and long-term contracts with federal agencies.

On the state level, we are generally seeing significant increases in the number of state governments and private entities who are preparing themselves for the new fire reality.

For example, in July 2023, the federal government announced the allocation of $185.0 million to support wildland fire management nationwide in 2023 and to assist land managers in planning for wildfire management activities in fiscal year 2024.

This investment builds on $278.0 million, announced in March 2023 and December 2022, already allocated in 2023.

In 2021, Washington State invested $328.0 million over the five following years to fight wildfires.

While this level of commitment is notable, it is reflective of the increased awareness across federal, state, and private entities that wildfire risk has entered a new era of severity.

Given our long-standing customer relationships with governmental bodies, we have an opportunity to fulfill this increased demand for firefighting services driven by longer and more severe fire seasons.

We view the increased demand as a means to further government agency ties and to capitalize on new aircraft investments.

Investments in mitigation and preparedness

Programs like the Community Wildfire Defense Grants, funded at $200 million in FY2025 for risk reduction projects across states and tribes, highlight growing federal emphasis on proactive measures (with continued funding and application rounds into FY2026 per USFS updates).

Coupled with bills such as the Emergency Wildfire Fighting Technology Act of 2025 (H.R.836), which mandates evaluation of innovative aerial systems, and the Modernizing Wildfire Safety and Prevention Act of 2025, these initiatives drive demand for advanced aerial platforms and data-driven solutions, positioning companies with versatile fleets for long-term contracts.

In addition, federal leadership and proposed mandates underscore the priority of reducing wildfire response times to enhance initial attack success.

Chief Brian Fennessy, appointed inaugural Chief of the USWFS under the DOI in January 2026, has emphasized that “wildfire response depends on coordination, clarity, and speed,” aligning with DOI efforts to streamline operations and improve efficiency in response to escalating wildfire risks (per Secretary’s Order 3443 and related announcements).

Proposed legislation, including the Wildfire Response and Preparedness Act of 2025 (H.R.

4038), would establish national goals for response times of not more than 30 minutes (to the extent practicable) for incident evaluation and deployment of suppression assets within hours, compared to current initial attack response times which can span multiple hours (and often longer in remote western areas), reflecting ongoing congressional focus on faster containment to limit fire spread and damage.

These developments support increased opportunities for aerial surveillance, rapid suppression, and technology-enabled services to meet evolving federal preparedness and response objectives .

Prolonged and year-round wildfire seasons

Climate change has contributed to extended wildfire seasons in many regions, particularly in the western United States, where fire seasons now start earlier, last longer into the fall, and include more frequent activity outside traditional summer peaks.

According to the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Climate Change Indicators:

Wildfires (updated as of 2025), an increase in the length of the fire season has been observed in some areas, driven by factors such as earlier spring melting, reduced snowpack, increased temperatures, and drought, which reduce water availability and dry fuels more readily.

This shift erodes the concept of a distinct “off-season” (historically October to May in some western contexts) and heightens year-round demand for aerial surveillance, suppression, and emergency response capabilities.

According to an article on wildland fire research by the EPA, an “increase in acres burned can be attributed to several factors, including more than 100 years of fire suppression that has resulted in a build-up of burnable material, and a changing climate with hotter and drier conditions.

Collectively these factors contribute to the increasing size and severity of wildfires.”

Human presence in the wildland-urban interface

Areas where human development intersects with undeveloped wildland vegetation, known as wildland-urban interface (“WUI”), continue to expand across the United States.

According to USFS research, the WUI now encompasses approximately 9.4% of the land area of the contiguous United States yet contains more than 44 million homes, roughly 32% of all housing nationwide.

From 1990 to 2020 the number of homes located in the WUI increased by nearly 46%, while WUI acreage grew by approximately 31%, placing more communities in areas exposed to wildfire risk.

As residential development continues to expand into fire-prone landscapes, the number of people and assets vulnerable to wildfire has grown significantly.

At the same time, national wildfire data compiled by the NIFC show that annual acreage burned varies widely year-to-year but regularly reaches millions of acres and exceeded 10 million acres in several recent seasons.

As the WUI areas continue to grow and wildfires grow larger, more aggressive firefighting strategies are necessary to ensure public safety.

These trends have led the U.S.

federal government to increase spending on fire suppression, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.0%, since 1985 to $3.2 billion in 2025, according to the NIFC Suppression Costs Data.

Even with this increased spending and demand, unfulfilled requests for fixed wing aircraft for aerial firefighting grew at a compound annual growth rate of 4.6% between 2002 and 2025, with 738 unfulfilled requests in 2025, according to National Interagency Coordination Center.

Escalating fuels management challenges drive continued demand for fire suppression

There are around 500 million acres of federal land susceptible to wildfire and some estimates say nearly 100 million of that needs to be treated at any point in time.

Current estimates are that approximately 2 million are treated on average annually through thinning, prescribed burns and targeted grazing.

Even with draft legislation targeting proactive fuels management, it is quite likely it could take decades to counter the extent to which we have unmanaged forests and the continued heat and drought conditions that are creating more concentrated wildfire fuels.

The aggressive management of these wildfires is best handled with Bridger’s Super Scoopers, purpose-built to directly attack fire when they first break out and in the critical moments when it can be extinguished or contained.

Fire plays a vital, natural role in the wildland ecosystem, but today’s frequent megafires disrupt the balance, necessitating rapid, aggressive suppression to keep them contained as smaller, more natural burns.

More severe fire seasons drive demand for fire suppression and aerial surveillance services

NIFC Suppression Costs Data supports that the acreage burned in the U.S.

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While there is variability in the acreage burned in any given year, the annual average of 7.2 million acres burned from 2004 to 2023 has almost doubled the annual average acreage burned from 1985 to 2003 of 3.7 million.

While the North American wildfire off-season has historically occurred between October and May, fires are starting earlier in the spring and lasting deeper into the fall according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”).

While the North American wildfire off-season has historically occurred between October and May, fires are starting earlier in the spring and lasting deeper into the fall and winter according to the EPA.

fire season is also lengthening on a consistent basis – according to Climate Central, the U.S.

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According to data provided by the NIFC, the average U.S.

fire preparedness level during the main wildfire season (June through September) has increased over time by more than one level:

fire preparedness level during the main wildfire season (June through September) has increased over time:

during the past five years (2021 – 2025) the average U.S.

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fire preparedness level since 1990 was 2.83.

Federal and state funding for wildfire control

National funding for wildfire management is appropriated by the U.S.

Congress (“Congress”) and each state pays for wildland firefighting slightly differently.

While fire suppression activities on wildlands in the U.S.

are financed through federal funds, budget-making processes may restrict the amount allocated.

According to the NIFC Suppression Costs Data, the average annual federal government fire suppression spending was $3.0 billion for the five-year period from 2019 to 2023, an increase of 28%, compared to $2.3 billion of average annual spending for the previous five-year period from 2014 to 2018.

The funding is allocated to the Department of the Interior (the “DOI”) and the USFS.

Our company then enters into short, medium and long-term contracts with federal agencies during the firefighting season.

On the state level, we are generally seeing significant increases in several state governments and private entities who are preparing themselves for the new fire reality.

This investment builds on $278.0 million, announced in March 2023 and December 2022, already allocated in 2023.

In 2021, Washington State invested $328.0 million over the five following years to fight wildfires.

While this level of commitment is unique, it is reflective of the increased awareness across many levels of government and private entities that wildfire risk has entered a new era of severity.

We view the increased demand as a means to further government agency ties and to capitalize on new aircraft investments.

Increased demand and limited supply of purpose-built suppression aircraft

According to the reports published by the NICC, demand for Type 3 multi-engine airtankers, which includes our Super Scooper aircraft, increased by over 56% for the two-year period of 2021 and 2022 compared to the prior two-year period of 2019 and 2020.

The Wildland Fire Reports showed that the increase in demand led to a higher percentage of unfulfilled requests, and in 2022, 34.9% of Type 3 multi-engine airtankers requests were unfulfilled compared to 8.9% in 2020.

Wildfire activity in 2025 demonstrated a meaningful shift toward earlier, more effective suppression.

While the number of flight hours flown increased as aerial assets were mobilized sooner and more frequently, the total acres burned declined to approximately 5.1 million acres.

This reduction is directly attributable to early callouts of aerial resources and rapid initial attack, enabling immediate response during critical ignition windows.

The data underscores a clear operational outcome:

increased aerial utilization up front materially reduces fire growth, limits downstream impacts, and improves overall wildfire containment and cost efficiency.

Super Scoopers are multi-engine airtankers built specifically for wildland firefighting.

They are highly effective at fighting fires and have historically only been owned and operated by foreign governments throughout Canada and the European Union (there are approximately 100 amphibious scooping aircraft owned by governments throughout the world) and as a result, used amphibious scooping aircraft are difficult to locate and obtain in the United States.

We are an original customer for Longview Aviation Services Inc.’s (“LAS”) launch of their Super Scooper CL-415EAF (Enhanced Aerial Firefighter) Program.

LAS has only manufactured a limited number of Super Scoopers available for sale between 2020 and 2025, and pursuant to our purchase agreement with LAS and Viking, dated April 13, 2018 (the “LAS Purchase Agreement”), we agreed to purchase six of the limited number of Super Scoopers.

On February 17, 2023, we received our sixth Super Scooper, which allows greater deployment of the Bridger aircraft fleet across the U.S.

As we are a long-standing customer of LAS, and as LAS develops their next generation of aerial firefighting solutions, our continuous feedback informs advancements in firefighting technology.

On November 17, 2023, we entered into a series of agreements with MAB Funding, LLC (“MAB”) and its subsidiary designed to facilitate the purchase and return to service of four Canadair CL-215T Amphibious Aircraft (the “Spanish Scoopers”) originally awarded to the Company in September 2023 via a public tender process from the Government of Spain for €40.3 million.

They are highly effective at fighting fires and have historically only been owned and operated by foreign governments throughout Canada and the European Union and as a result, used amphibious scooping aircraft are difficult to locate and obtain in the United States.

We are an original customer for Longview Aviation Services Inc.’s (“LAS”) launch of their Super Scooper Program, with Viking as the original manufacturer.

De Havilland now owns the type certificate and intends to launch the new version of the Super Scooper, referred to as the De Havilland Canadair (“DHC”) 515.

However, once the approximately 20 orders (all provinces or countries) are all filled, the production line is anticipated to be unavailable until the 2030s.

Fortunately, the DHC 515 and the turbine variants owned by Bridger are very similar so Bridger is achieving synergies as one of the biggest operators of the Super Scooper.

This in turn helps De Havilland re-establish a robust production line and supply chain.

On November 17, 2023, we entered into a series of agreements with MAB Funding, LLC (“MAB”) and its subsidiary designed to facilitate the purchase and return to service of four Spanish Scoopers originally awarded to the Company in September 2023 via a public tender process from the Government of Spain for €40.3 million.

The terms of the agreements provide that the Company will manage the return-to-service upgrades of the Spanish Scoopers while they are owned and funded by MAB.

The Company has the right, but not the obligation, to acquire each plane as it is ready to be contracted and returned to service.

The Company plans to acquire the Spanish Scoopers in a sequential manner as they are modified and subsequently contracted for service.

The Company has the right, but not the obligation, to acquire each aircraft as it is ready to be contracted and returned to service.

On December 23, 2025, we purchased two of the Spanish Scoopers from MAB for an aggregate purchase price of $50.0 million.

Given the limited supply of purpose-built multi-engine airtankers, upkeep and maintenance of existing aircraft is vital to minimize lapses in firefighting services occurring during wildfire season and to reduce the impact of any disruptions that occur.

The Super Scooper is the only aerial fire suppression aircraft with factory OEM support which aids in reducing downtime.

Bridger has a strong track record of managing its uptime to receive deployment orders and remain available on contract.

All aircraft travel with mobile repair units to support in-field repairs and minimize on-contract downtime.

Our Competitive Strengths

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Purpose-built aircraft that can drop higher volumes of water

Our six Super Scooper aircraft are the latest model in the LAS production line and feature enhanced industry technology.

Viking, a subsidiary of LAS, purchased the type certificate and is the OEM for the design of all the CL-215 and CL-415 models from Bombardier Aerospace.

LAS then made significant improvements and introduced the Super Scooper, which includes the following improvements over the CL-415:

Our Super Scooper aircraft are the latest model in the De Havilland production line and feature enhanced industry technology.

• Higher cruising speed;

• Improved air safety;

• Latest-generation technological reliability;

• New avionics and instrumentation;

• More accurate water discharge technology;

• Suitability for mountainous terrain;

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• Improved operational efficiency.

• Structural integrity.

The Super Scooper leverages modern turbine engines to deliver superior high-altitude performance.

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The Super Scooper aircraft allow for rapid delivery of water strikes to extinguish wildfires, particularly when deployed in tandem or larger groups to allow for continuous water-delivery as aircraft return to the water source.

Bridger operates the largest commercial Super Scooper fleet worldwide, enhancing its competitive position in rapid-response suppression.

Highly-skilled crew of pilots and maintenance personnel

As of December 31, 2024, we have 15 captains on staff as part of the Super Scooper flight crew.

We maintain a dedicated team of captains on staff as part of the Super Scooper flight crew.

Each captain has thousands of hours of flight time.

All flight crew have a minimum of four years of aerial firefighting experience.

Recurrent training for all flight crew is required in a Level D full motion flight simulator.

Recurrent training for all flight crew is required in a Level D full motion flight simulator each year.

Each of our pilots attends annual and recurrent training specific to the aircraft they operate and to meet our standards of safety and standard operating procedures.

Each pilot that flies an aircraft on contract for a government agency receives a certification card on an annual basis that validates they are qualified by the government to safely operate the aircraft while on contract.

As of December 31, 2024, we have 11 crew chiefs on staff as part of the Super Scooper maintenance crew.

Each crew chief has thousands of hours maintaining aircraft in the Viking family and are familiar with firefighting operations.

In addition, we maintain a seasoned team of crew chiefs on staff as part of the Super Scooper maintenance crew.

Each crew chief has thousands of hours maintaining aircraft in the De Havilland family and are familiar with firefighting operations.

Factory training is mandatory for all of the maintenance team specific to the aircraft and components they maintain.

They are also required to complete company-specific training courses regarding safety, standard operating procedures and systems in which they track and sign-off on maintenance logs.

Competitive compensation and long-term investment in our team

Bridger remains committed to competitive base compensation for all employees, including pilots.

We deliberately avoid variable or performance-based pay structures for pilots to eliminate any potential incentives for unsafe mission decisions and to reinforce our long-term investment in our team members' stability and well-being.

We invest heavily in comprehensive training for all operations personnel, including on-the-job experience and instructor-led programs.

This creates tangible career value, enhances skills, and supports professional growth in a demanding field.

Additionally, our fleet, featuring the iconic Super Scoopers, serves as a powerful attraction and retention tool.

Pilots seeking hands-on wildfire suppression experience can progress to flying these rare multi-engine seaplanes, building expertise over time through demonstrated performance and structured advancement opportunities.

Long-standing client relationships

We have provided aerial firefighting services since 2015 to government agencies, including the USFS, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (“Cal Fire”) and multiple other state governments.

We have been praised as an industry leader, specifically by the USFS, with regards to the SMS program and have been recommended by the USFS as a model for safe aircraft operations.

Currently, we maintain active contracts with multiple federal agencies and the state governments of many high wildfire risk states.

Historically, we have experienced a 100% renewal rate on our federal and state contracts.

We bid upon and were awarded a USFS multi-year contract beginning with the 2021 fire season through the beginning of the 2025 fire season for the use of our Super Scooper planes, which we anticipate will be extended through the 2025 fire season.

Bridger delivers aerial wildfire suppression and support to federal customers, including the USFS and the DOI, now operating as the USWFS, as well as to numerous state agencies across high-risk fire regions.

Bridger has earned strong customer trust through its consistent commitment to safe, reliable operations, guided by an established SMS and a culture of continuous improvement.

The company currently holds multiple active federal and state contracts, including a multi-year award received in 2021 for nationwide Super Scooper fire suppression services.

That contract runs through the end of the 2026 fire season.

Our relationship with the USFS involves two material service agreements:

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Department of Agriculture.

Under the Call-When-Needed Water Scooper Contract, we provide Super Scooper aircraft services for wildland firefighting on a national basis for a period of four years from June 3, 2021.

Under the Call-When-Needed Water Scooper Contract, we provide Super Scooper aircraft services for wildland firefighting on a national basis for a period of four years.

The initial four‑year term commenced on June 3, 2021.

To extend this long‑standing relationship, the contract was extended through September 30, 2026.

These extensions underscore the strength and durability of our partnership with the USFS.

We generate revenue under the Call-When-Needed Water Scooper Contract from task orders placed by the USFS.

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Acquire and deploy additional aircraft to meet increased demand

We are an original customer for LAS’s launch of its Super Scooper CL-415EAF Program.

There are approximately 100 amphibious scooping aircraft owned by governments throughout the world and as a result, used amphibious scooping aircraft are difficult to locate and obtain.

LAS has only made a limited number of new Super Scoopers available for sale between 2020 and 2025, of which the Company has purchased six.

Expanding our services

Fire Monitoring Technology :

Current consolidated fire data is controlled by wildfire agencies with limited to no access publicly available.

On September 14, 2023, we acquired Ignis Technologies (“Ignis”) to develop a pioneering mobile and web platform that elevates firefighter situational awareness, creates an interoperable common operating picture across firefighting units and produces real time, high value data to help fire organizations better manage wildfire risk.

We have an experienced and well-trained crew of maintenance professionals.

Maintenance personnel and their maintenance support staff are current on all general aviation standards and requirements and are specifically trained to service our fleet of aircraft as well as customer aircraft.

We ensure our maintenance team has all the necessary equipment needed to exceed FAA maintenance standards and maintain USFS and DOI contract aircraft requirements.

We are a FAA Certified Part 145 Repair Station offering in-house airframe and avionics repair capabilities for our aerial firefighting fleet.

In April 2022, our Part 145 Certified Repair Station was awarded an ISO 9110 certification which is one of the highest standards in a repair organization recognized by the FAA.

This certification was completed by the British Standards Institution, recognized as an industry leader in quality management systems.

We are an original customer for the Super Scooper Program and as a result, used amphibious scooping aircraft are difficult to locate and obtain.

The manufacturer has only made a limited number of new Super Scoopers available for sale between 2020 and 2025, of which the Company has purchased six.

Domestic and international expansion

We are committed to increasing our market share and service offering domestically and internationally.

Given our competitive strengths, we believe we are well-positioned to take advantage of the growth in domestic demand for fire safety and environmental awareness.

We currently have contracts in place with the USFS, the DOI, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Alaska Division of Forestry, Cal Fire, Colorado Department of Public Safety Division of Fire Prevention and Control, Idaho Department of Lands, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Oregon Department of Forestry.

We intend to penetrate certain additional domestic markets through leveraging existing relationships and building local market teams.

We have established this historically by maintaining relationships in the field with customers, gathering near real-time feedback to improve operations, as well as holding regular feedback sessions to incorporate points of improvement and planning for subsequent years.

We are exploring the possibility of operating internationally during the North American wildfire off-season, which generally occurs between October and May.

We seek to become a global entity that provides aerial firefighting services worldwide.

Our goal is to bring our aerial suppression services to Europe through the agreement entered into for the Spanish Scoopers in November 2023.

Additionally, we plan to bring the Super Scooper to Asia and/or South America in the future and to demonstrate the platform’s effectiveness.

Currently, Super Scoopers are either not utilized on wildland fires in these areas or are not operated in a contractor-owned, contractor-operated business model.

We plan to fill an underserved need to provide an alternative solution to aging and obsolete government-owned, government-operated fleets.

We are committed to expanding our market share and service offerings both domestically and internationally.

We currently have contracts in place with the USFS, the DOI, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, State of Washington Department of Natural Resources, Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection, Cal Fire, Colorado Department of Public Safety Division of Fire Prevention and Control, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Oregon Department of Forestry, and Alberta Forestry Division Wildfire Management Branch.

We plan to expand into additional domestic markets by leveraging existing relationships and establishing dedicated local market teams.

This includes cultivating demand in new states as they develop or expand aerial firefighting aviation programs, while positioning Bridger to secure growing federal contracts that incorporate more aircraft and enhanced capabilities over time.

This approach builds on our proven track record of maintaining strong, long-standing relationships with federal and state agencies.

By engaging directly in the field, collecting near real-time feedback, and conducting regular sessions to incorporate improvements and plan ahead, we continuously enhance operations and position ourselves for expanded awards.

We are exploring the possibility of operating internationally, in both fire suppression and surveillance.

The two Spanish Scoopers purchased December 2025 will remain in Europe for the first part of 2026 to assess operations outside of the U.S.

Pursuing Opportunistic Mergers & Acquisitions (“M&A”)

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Our operating results are impacted by seasonality.

Climate conditions and other factors that may influence our revenues may vary each quarter and year.

Many of these factors are outside of our control, including but not limited to:

• forest fires tend to have a higher occurrence during the summer months and during times of drought, but are ultimately unpredictable;

Climate conditions and other factors that may influence our revenues may vary each quarter.

Some of these factors are outside of our control, including but not limited to:

• forest fires tend to have a higher occurrence during the summer months and during times of drought, but can vary in size, intensity, duration, frequency, and location;

• climate change and changes in global temperatures occur over time;

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• changes in governmental regulations or in the status of our regulatory approvals or applications.

Historically, the demand for our services has been higher in the second and third quarters of each fiscal year due to the timing and duration of the North American wildfire season.

Consequently, revenues, expenses and operating cash flows from our services are generated mostly in the second and third quarters of our fiscal year.

However, the seasonal fluctuation in the need to fight wildfires based upon location and the varying intensity of the wildfire season may lead our operating results to fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year.

Because wildfires occur at different times in different parts of the country, we operate on a year-round basis.

However, historically the majority of wildfires occur in the second and third quarters, so the demand for our services has generally been higher in the second and third quarters of each fiscal year due to the timing and duration of the North American wildfire season with lower demand in the winter months.

As a result, seasonality and the varying intensity of the fire season have caused, and may continue to cause, our operating results to fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year.

Our Customers

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Our Competitors

Our primary competition is a private aerial firefighting operator that currently manages four CL-415s, three Type II Dash 8-400ATs and seven Avro RJ85s, which are designed to drop fire retardant.

Additionally, from time-to-time we may compete with aerial firefighting companies that drop water from helicopters.

However, our management does not view helicopters as a direct threat to our operations because while many helicopters are only able to pursue two-hour missions due to fuel capacity, our Super Scooper aircraft have four-hour fuel capacity.

Our Super Scooper program is not designed to replace the use of aircraft that drop fire retardant on wildfires.

Fire retardant is a substance frequently deployed by large air tankers to slow down or stop the spread of fire and is frequently used to create a perimeter or border around a fire.

While it is possible for a fire to burn through a fire line created by fire retardant, fire retardant remains a valuable tool in the fight and management of wildfires, and when combined with the deployment of Super Scoopers dropping water, can be effective in managing, controlling and slowing the spread of wildfires.

We believe our ability to compete successfully as an aerial firefighting service will depend on a number of factors, which may change in the future due to increased competition, including the price of our offerings, consumer confidence in the safety and efficacy of our offerings and consumer satisfaction for the solutions we offer.

Our primary competitor is a private aerial firefighting operator that currently manages four CL-415s, three Type II Dash 8-400ATs, and seven Avro RJ85s, which are designed to drop fire retardant.

This company’s only direct competitive airframe against our Super Scoopers is its CL-415s.

However, given the significant unmet capacity in the U.S.

market for amphibious scooping aircraft, we rarely compete directly for the same missions.

Other aircraft types may compete based on retardant or water delivery capacity, including Very Large Air Tankers (“VLATs”), Large Air Tankers (“LATs”), single-engine amphibious scoopers such as the Fireboss (Type III SEAT), and Type 1 helicopters.

VLATs and LATs deliver large retardant loads suited for indirect attack and fire line creation but require airport-based reloads, limiting rapid, repeated drops.

Fire Boss aircraft support quick initial attack on smaller fires but with lower capacity.

Type 1 helicopters offer precision and versatility but carry less volume per load and have higher operating costs per gallon.

In contrast, Super Scoopers enable rapid scooping from nearby water sources, facilitating efficient initial and direct attack strategies that contain fires early, limit growth into megafires and reduce overall devastation.

This capability complements other assets in multi-aircraft responses and positions us well for scenarios requiring high volume, water-based suppression near accessible water bodies.

Our Super Scooper program is not intended to replace retardant-dropping aircraft.

Fire retardant, frequently deployed by large air tankers, slows fire spread and creates perimeters or containment lines.

While fires can occasionally burn through retardant lines, it remains a valuable tool in wildfire management.

When combined with Super Scooper water drops, retardant enhances overall effectiveness in controlling and slowing the spread of wildfires.

We believe our ability to compete successfully depends on a number of factors, which may change in the future due to increased competition, including the price of our offerings, consumer confidence in the safety and efficacy of our offerings and consumer satisfaction for the solutions we offer.

Additionally, we may compete with other aerial firefighting operators for federal and state budget dollars, and for various governmental service programs that support aerial firefighting programs.

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Our methodology for determining backlog may not be comparable to the methodology used by other companies.

As of December 31, 2024, the Company has backlog of $8.1 million, of which approximately $8.1 million is expected to be recognized as revenue within the next twelve months.

As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company had backlog of $14.0 million and $8.1 million, respectively.

Backlog may not be indicative of future operating results as orders may be cancelled or modified by our customers and may not be indicative of continuing revenue performance over future fiscal quarters.

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As a company founded by veterans, we seek to employ qualified veterans and draw upon the experiences of their shared military background including their strategic mindset, management skillset and high level of discipline.

As of December 31, 2024, approximately one out of ten of our employees is a veteran of the U.S.

As of December 31, 2025, approximately one out of six of our employees is a veteran of the U.S.

To date, we have not experienced any work stoppages, and we consider our relationship with our employees to be good.

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Accordingly, our voluntary turnover is very low, employee engagement is high and we have not experienced any interruptions of operations due to labor disagreements.

Our employees are not subject to collective bargaining agreements or represented by labor union.

Our employees are not subject to collective bargaining agreements or represented by labor unions.

Health and Safety

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Routinely, we fund enhanced workforce training in specific technical fields related to those employees’ desires.

In one instance, we have had an employee who was hired as a facility cleaner.

With further training and investment, the employee became a ground vehicle support manager and is now an aircraft mechanic.

In one instance, we have had an employee who was hired as a facility cleaner and with further training and investment, the employee became a ground vehicle support manager and is now an aircraft mechanic.

We also hire entry level mechanics and train them to obtain their airframe and powerplant certification, which allows them to perform maintenance on any aircraft unsupervised.

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Employee Retention and Opportunity

We believe that attraction and retention of top talent from a variety of backgrounds is important and we employ policies and procedures to recruit diverse talent as well as policies to ensure pay equality.

We believe that attraction and retention of top talent from a variety of backgrounds is important and we employ policies and procedures to identify and recruit talent as well as policies to ensure pay equality.

We have an Equal Employment Opportunity Policy whereby we commit to providing equal employment opportunity, promotion, services, or activities which operates for all qualified employees and applicants without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, parental status, citizenship status, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information or other legally protected status.

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The regulations, policies and guidance issued by the FAA apply to the use and operation of our aircraft.

We have been granted Air Carrier Certification Certificates under which we operate in the United States.

Operators of aircraft are required to have proper licenses, permits and authorizations from the FAA and comply with the FAA’s insurance requirements for third-party liability and government property.

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We are proud to have a stellar record of performance both in flight and on the ground with respect to all of our regulatory bodies.

Our SMS system is robust and a living tool used to promote safety first in all activities.

This program has been in place nearly 2 years ahead of its FAA-mandated date of May 2027.

All company departments are involved in cross-training and real-world exercises utilizing our Emergency Response Plan (“ERP”).

We use outside observation to troubleshoot and fine tune for readiness.

Our Director of Safety provides awareness to the CEO and conducts regular visits to off-site locations to observe and identify areas of possible concern.

Immediate root cause methods are used to correct and mitigate needed areas.

Other Information

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Compared sentence by sentence after normalising whitespace, quotation marks, case and digits, so re-formatting and restated figures do not read as changed language. Wording changes appear as one removal and one addition. The current filing and the prior one are authoritative.

What changed 10-K

Item 1. Business