Los Angeles is getting a powerful new weapon to battle wildfires, but it comes with a staggering $43 million price tag — and taxpayers are footing the bill.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to buy a new Sikorsky S-70i Firehawk for the county fire department.
The total includes an estimated $5,123,546 from a 15% import tariff, pushing the cost of the aircraft even higher.
The tariff applies because the helicopter is imported from the European Union under a trade deal struck between the Trump administration and the EU in July 2025.
Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said the exact tariff won’t be known until the final payment is made, meaning the final cost could still change.
The twist is that the Firehawk is actually an American-designed helicopter built by Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company.
But the civilian S-70i is manufactured at Sikorsky’s factory in Poland, making it subject to the import duty.
County officials had no American-made alternative because Sikorsky does not build the S-70i in the United States, and no domestic manufacturer currently produces a comparable new heavy firefighting helicopter.
The Firehawk is designed for year-round emergency missions.
It carries a 1,000-gallon belly tank, can refill in less than 60 seconds while hovering over a lake or reservoir using a retractable snorkel, and is equipped for nighttime firefighting with a cockpit compatible with night-vision goggles.
“The recommended actions will enhance the district’s helicopter fleet to meet the ever-increasing emergency response challenges associated with protecting lives and property in today’s wildfire environment …” Marrone wrote.
The county will also spend another $6.6 million on mission equipment and other upgrades before the helicopter enters service.
Los Angeles County has relied on Firehawks for a quarter-century.
Marrone said the department’s existing S-70A Firehawks have logged more than 19,000 operational hours and “has proven to be the best multi-mission aircraft on the market.”
The purchase comes just weeks after county leaders approved a separate $41.25 million contract to continue leasing the iconic Super Scooper water-dropping aircraft and their pilots for another five years.
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