Game Aerospace’s GB2 firefighting aircraft has completed its first flight, with the prototype departing Louise Thaden Field in Bentonville, Arkansas, and finishing the initial test profile as planned. The twin-seat aircraft is being developed as a purpose-built aerial firefighting platform for the U.S. market, with capacity for about 4,540 litres of fire retardant and 1,510 litres of fuel.
The programme is aimed at combining payload capability with a relatively light empty weight and a maximum take-off weight of about 8,620 kilograms. That places the GB2 in the growing single-engine air tanker segment, where speed, range and usable load are central to initial attack and suppression missions.
Game Aerospace is positioning the aircraft for wildfire operations from the outset, with the Bentonville flight representing a key step in the company’s test campaign. The first sortie also provides the programme with a public milestone as it moves further into development and certification work.