BELGRADE, Mont., March 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. ("Bridger" or "Bridger Aerospace"), (NASDAQ: BAER, BAERW), one of the nation's largest aerial firefighting companies, today announced the appointment of Adolphus "Bill" Andrews as Chief Operating Officer, effective March 2nd. Andrews brings more than three decades of aerospace and aviation leadership experience spanning aircraft development, production, flight operations, maintenance, and sustainment across military and commercial platforms and will oversee all operational functions across Bridger Aerospace's fleet, maintenance, and mission support organizations, with a focus on enhancing readiness, operational excellence, safety, and scalable growth to meet increasing demand for aerial firefighting and mission-critical services.
Andrews served as Vice President and Executive Program Manager for Mobility Programs at Lockheed Martin, where he led domestic C-130, C-5, and P-3 aircraft programs through development, production, and maintenance. He managed a portfolio exceeding $2 billion, including maintenance upgrades, aircraft readiness initiatives, and rapid response customer support. Under his leadership, the organization continued to grow its backlog by several billion, executing foundational multiyear contracts and strengthening supply chain resilience.
Previously, Andrews held senior leadership roles at Lockheed Martin overseeing worldwide field operations supporting thousands of aircraft across 110+ bases, including F-16, F-22, F-35, C-5, and C-130 fleets. He led digital fleet modernization efforts, new base activations and deployments, and 24/7 global maintenance support operations. Throughout his career, he led organizations of more than 1,000 personnel across multiple states and countries, delivering complex flight operations, test and evaluation programs, and major fleet modification initiatives-often ahead of schedule and under budget.
Andrews proudly served in the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard as a C-130 Evaluator Pilot and Aircraft Commander, leading combat, humanitarian, counterdrug, and firefighting missions with experience commanding C130 MAFFS deployment working with federal and state agencies.
Bill Andrews holds a Master of Science in Systems and Project Management from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy.
"I am honored to join Bridger Aerospace and support its critical mission," said Andrews. "As wildfire risk intensifies and demand for aerial response grows, operational readiness, fleet reliability, and a strong culture of safety are paramount. I look forward to working with the talented team at Bridger to further strengthen the company's capabilities and deliver exceptional service to our partners and communities."
"Bill's proven ability to lead large, complex organizations and deliver operational excellence at scale makes him an outstanding addition to our executive team," said Sam Davis, Chief Executive Officer of Bridger Aerospace. "His experience managing multi-billion-dollar portfolios and advancing fleet readiness will be instrumental as we continue to expand our capabilities to deliver on our mission of protecting lives, property, the environment, and critical infrastructure. Given his background in both defense and wildfire, Bill is uniquely positioned to help Bridger deliver fully integrated services and expand our business. After bringing in Anne Hayes to take on the CFO role and now welcoming Bill, I am tremendously proud and excited about the direction Bridger is headed with this executive team at the helm."
About Bridger Aerospace
Based in Belgrade, Montana, Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. is one of the nation's largest aerial firefighting companies. Bridger provides aerial firefighting and wildfire management services to federal and state government agencies, including the United States Forest Service, across the nation, as well as internationally. More information about Bridger Aerospace is available at https://www.bridgeraerospace.com.
Investor Contact
Alison Ziegler
Darrow Associates
201-220-2678
aziegler@darrowir.com
Media Contact
Devin Johnson
Bridger Aerospace
406-919-5980
d.johnson@bridgeraerospace.com
