Category: EMS

Set to arrive over four years from 2028, the new aircraft – replacing the existing King Air 200 fleet – will be fitted out with a bespoke Aeromedical Mission System (AMS) from Sunshine Coast-based company HeliMods.

Part of the 2026-27 State Budget, the funding will support RFDS operations across regional, rural and remote parts of NSW, including primary care, dental, mental health, retrieval services and patient and clinician transport.

VH-VHD “Snowbird 1”, operated by Skytraders, responded to an “urgent request for assistance” at US-operated McMurdo Station late last month, taking advantage of a “narrow weather window” to perform the evacuation to New Zealand.

Based at Perth’s Jandakot Airport, VH-AW2 was funded by mining billionaire Gina Rinehart through her Rinehart Medical Foundation and Hancock Iron Ore, and is the first PC-12 PRO to join RFDS WA as part of a fleet renewal program.

The provider, which began operations in the state in January with an initial fleet of three Bell 412 helicopters, is a joint venture between LifeFlight and the Linfox Group.