STARS Air Ambulance officially welcomed its newest addition to the fleet on Tuesday, although it's already been hard at work for a while.

The medically-equipped Airbus H145 helicopter is the fifth of ten new choppers that are planned for a western Canadian fleet upgrade under the organization's "Keep the Fight in Flight" campaign.

The helicopter's registration, C-GFRG, is a nod to STARS co-founder Rod Gantegoer, who was instrumental in bringing the air ambulance service to Saskatchewan a decade ago and led the organization for many years after.

Gantefoer was on hand for the ceremony in Regina, along with Ministers Paul Merriman and Everett Hindley, and Regina Resident Carrie Derin; who was saved by the STARS service after being critically injured in an ATV accident in 2012.

In 2018, the organization unveiled the "Keep the Fight in Flight" campaign, aiming to replace their fleet with ten H145 medically-equipped helicopters. The government of Saskatchewan committed to the first of those choppers, with fundraising accounting for the rest.

Prior to that point, the fleet had been made up of AW139 and BK117 models, both of which are reaching the end of their lifespan. The AW139 models having already been retired from the STARS fleet in September of 2020.

The belief is that for both sustainability and safety, a fleet comprised of only a single model aircraft would streamline operations since less time and money would need to be spent on dual-platform maintenance and training.

Yesterday's unveiling was the fifth of the proposed ten new helicopters to arrive since 2019.