California’s Anodyne Electronics Manufacturing Corp. (AEM, Booth 231) has been selected to provide the loudspeaker system for a fleet of new Sikorsky S70i firefighting helicopters for the state of California, it said this week at Heli-Expo. Further, the company will also design and manufacture the master caution annunciator panel for the Enstrom 480B.

For the state of California, AEM’s LS1320 loudspeaker system is being installed for air-to-ground communications in seven new Sikorsky S-70i  Firehawks. The first three were delivered to state’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) in December. United Rotorcraft and Sikorsky jointly selected AEM’s 1,320-watt loudspeaker system.

The new S-70i is also outfitted with equipment developed for California’s growing firefighting challenges, including a new water tank design; a 600-pound external rescue hoist; and a 9,000-pound cargo hook. United Rotorcraft and Sikorsky expect to deliver more than a dozen S-70i Firehawk aircraft in the next two years.

Meanwhile, Enstrom has previously used AEM loudspeaker and illuminated panel products in its single-engine helicopter fleet, which prompted its choice as the master caution panel provider for its forthcoming flagship. “When we needed a custom solution for our 480B master caution annunciation panel, AEM was our top choice,” said Enstrom’s director of engineering, Bill Taylor.

Steve Broderick, AEM’s distribution and business development representative,  added that “redesigning a caution warning panel is not a small undertaking.” 

AEM and Enstrom are exhibiting in tandem this week at Heli-Expo. First delivery of a 480B, which was developed to U.S. Army new training helicopter requirements, is expected later this year.