Helicopter Alliance’s Black Hawk helicopters complete an exceptional firefighting season
UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters operated by Helicopter Alliance responded to fires in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and took part in international missions in France and Serbia during the aerial firefighting season that has just ended. Helicopter Alliance provides aerial firefighting services using Black Hawk helicopters for the Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic and the Fire and Rescue Corps of the Slovak Republic under framework agreements covering the period from June to September. These aircraft are also deployed from the Czech Republic and Slovakia to other European countries under the rescEU programme. Throughout this year’s season, Helicopter Alliance’s helicopters carried out 1,993 water drops during these operations, delivering nearly 6 million litres of water to fire sites.
The most significant international deployments of this year’s season took place in France. What made them particularly exceptional was that, within just a few weeks, France twice requested assistance from Black Hawk helicopters operated by Helicopter Alliance through the Czech Republic’s participation in the rescEU programme. During the summer, France faced an exceptional combination of high temperatures, prolonged drought and extensive wildfires. According to Météo-France data, 2026 saw the largest area affected by fires in the history of available records.
Two missions to France, 670 water drops
During the first deployment, the first UH-60 Black Hawk departed from Czechia for France on 10 July, followed two days later by a second UH-60. The town of Die in the Drôme department initially served as their operational base. The helicopters fought fires around Valence and in the mountainous Diois area, where rugged, rocky terrain complicated firefighters’ work and many locations were difficult for ground vehicles to reach. The aircraft subsequently moved to other fires in the Pyrenees. Both helicopters were thus able to work together, supporting French ground crews with drops of large volumes of water.
“This year’s season was the most demanding we have experienced so far. Behind those nearly two thousand drops were crews flying in difficult conditions, in the mountains and in strong winds, often for several consecutive days, as well as technicians preparing the aircraft so they could take off again the following day. I am proud of the whole team. They demonstrated that the Black Hawk is an exceptionally reliable aircraft for aerial firefighting and that we can deploy it quickly wherever it is needed. We also greatly value the professional cooperation with firefighters in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and on international missions,” says Helicopter Alliance CEO Aleš Kvídera.
As early as 24 July, just a few days after the first mission ended, one of Helicopter Alliance’s Black Hawks was dispatched from Czechia to France again. This time, it headed to the Gironde department to fight a major fire that had broken out near the village of Saumos and was advancing towards Le Porge and the Lège-Cap-Ferret peninsula. The fire affected an exceptionally large area, required the evacuation of large numbers of residents and tourists and, according to Météo-France, was among the largest fires in France in several decades. Among other tasks, the Black Hawk helped protect populated areas.
Once the situation in Gironde had stabilised, the Czech module operating this aircraft moved on 28 July to the Var department in Provence, southeastern France. Le Luc–Le Cannet airfield became its base, and the aircraft flew there alongside another Helicopter Alliance UH-60 helicopter, in this case deployed from Slovakia. High temperatures, strong and shifting winds and the rapid emergence of new fire outbreaks complicated the operations. On 1 August alone, the Czech Black Hawk carried out 49 water drops. The second deployment ended on 4 August after nine days of operational activity, during which the helicopter completed a total of 263 drops.
Across the two French missions, the helicopters deployed as part of the Czech modules carried out a combined total of 670 water drops. The repeated activation of Czech aerial resources to assist the same country within a few weeks was exceptional both in the intensity of the operations and in the need to respond quickly to changing conditions and move the helicopters between different regions of France.
Another major international deployment followed in Serbia in August. On 22 August, two Czech modules equipped with UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters departed to provide assistance, primarily in the Deliblatska Peščara protected area in Vojvodina, where hot, dry weather, strong winds and difficult-to-access sandy terrain complicated the response. Three Helicopter Alliance Black Hawks operating in the Czech Republic and Slovakia took part in the international operation, alongside an additional aircraft sent by Romania. Their joint deployment allowed substantial aerial resources to be concentrated over a single extensive fire site and demonstrated the Black Hawks’ capabilities in coordinated aerial firefighting involving multiple helicopters.
Intensive operations in Czechia and Slovakia
The substantial international deployments did not reduce Helicopter Alliance’s readiness to respond to fires in Czechia and Slovakia. This was clearly demonstrated on 4 August, when one of the Czech Black Hawks was returning from the second deployment in France together with the Slovak aircraft, while another Helicopter Alliance Black Hawk remained ready to respond in Czechia. At that time, aerial resources were being deployed, among other operations, to a major forest fire near Křečovice in the Benešov district and a fire at the SONO landfill in Čížkovice in the Litoměřice district.
In Slovakia, a UH-60 Black Hawk belonging to Helicopter Alliance was also repeatedly called out by Slovak firefighters during August to fight major fires in difficult-to-access terrain. It first assisted at a fire in the Súľov Rocks before moving directly to the High Tatras, where it operated near Popradské pleso lake. During this operation alone, it carried out more than 21 water drops. Further deployments followed in the Záhorie District and near Trstín in the Trnava district, where a fire affected approximately 130 hectares of forest and grassland. The helicopter collected water from the Buková reservoir and delivered it directly to the fire site.
Nearly 2,000 water drops and 489 flight hours
The overall figures best illustrate the scale of this year’s season. From June to September, helicopters operated by Helicopter Alliance carried out a total of 1,993 water drops and logged 489 hours of aerial firefighting. In doing so, they delivered nearly six million litres of water to fire sites. To put that into perspective, this is equivalent to approximately 1,500 standard firefighting tanker trucks, each with a tank capacity of 4,000 litres.
Helicopter Alliance – the 2026 firefighting season in numbers:
- 1,993 water drops,
- nearly 6 million litres of water delivered to fire sites,
- 489 flight hours during aerial firefighting,
- operations in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France and Serbia,
- 670 water drops during two missions by Czech modules in France.
About Helicopter Alliance
Helicopter Alliance is a joint-stock holding company comprising six companies from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the United States: Ace Aeronautics, U.S. Aviation Training Solutions, Česká letecká servisní, European Air Services Slovakia, Slovak Training Academy and Heli Company. These companies are well established both in the Czech Republic and internationally, thanks in part to recent and ongoing projects, including Black Hawk helicopter upgrades in Austria, Slovakia and Portugal, as well as the provision of aerial firefighting services in the Czech Republic and other European countries.
READ MORE ROTOR PRO: https://justhelicopters.com/Magazine
WATCH ROTOR PRO YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://buff.ly/3Md0T3y
You can also find us on
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rotorpro1
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/rotorpro1
Twitter - https://twitter.com/justhelicopters