A new Bell 407GX helicopter joined the San Diego Sheriff's Department's ASTREA fleet on Thursday.
Sheriff Bill Gore showed off the $4.8 million helicopter at Gillespie Field in El Cajon.
"I put my head in the cockpit. It does have that new helicopter smell," Gore said. "It's a beautiful piece of equipment."
Gore said the helicopter is equipped to handle a variety of missions. It can also be hooked up with a 200-gallon "Bambi Bucket" to drop water on wildfires.
Increasing the helicopter fleet is part of an overall county strategy to improve protection since the 2003 Cedar Fire that burned more than 280,000 acres and killed 15 people.
"We've invested about $320 million to making our region safer," said Supervisor Dianne Jacob.
Gore said the new addition to the ASTREA fleet is loaded with new features, including a glass cockpit giving the flight crew greater situational awareness and safety. It also has an improved heat detecting camera, and warning systems to alert the flight crew about other air traffic.
Gore said his department is in the process of buying one more helicopter, a Bell 205, specifically for firefighting. He said he expects it to be delivered by this fall, bringing the total fleet up to nine helicopters.
