ABU DHABI – Global aerospace and defense contractor AAR is looking to expand its business in the Middle East after securing a deal with a subsidiary of United Arab Emirates giant Mubadala.
The maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) company is exploring markets in Saudi Arabia and Qatar as well as the wider Middle East, said Chairman and CEO David Storch.
"We try to expand our current capability to work in countries where there are fleets that are growing and we are focusing mainly in the Middle East and you will see more AAR presence as time goes," he told Defense News.
With AAR being the largest MRO contractor in North America, the company has developed unique processes and technology to maintain US civilian and military aircraft.
However, within the Middle East, Storch said he is confident in dealing with its mix of European, Russian and American inventory.
All of it poses a challenge, he said, but also an opportunity.
"One of our strengths is the close-to-the-customer business model where we do things based on the individual customer. We do not dictate the aircraft they select, but once they do, we assist them in the after-market support, so the fact they utilize European and American aircraft we view as a positive," he said. "But we don't know much about Russian models and are working on it."
In the UAE, AAR will support the design, outfitting and integration of areas of the Advanced Military Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Center (AMMROC), a new state-of-the-art facility south of Abu Dhabi in Al Ain, UAE.
"This is our biggest deal in the region and we are looking forward to starting it," Storch said.
The new facility will be one of the largest dedicated military MRO centers in the world, and will be an anchor tenant at Nibras al-Ain Aerospace Park, a free-zone project jointly developed by Mubadala and Abu Dhabi Airports Co. to support the establishment of a sustainable aerospace hub in Abu Dhabi.
AMMROC is a joint venture among Mubadala Development Co., Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin and serves as the MRO contractor for the UAE military.
"We chose AAR to support us as we develop this world-class facility because of their experience and expertise in this area," said Fahed al-Shamesi, CEO of AMMROC.
"We are excited to start work on this military aviation MRO that will allow us to reduce maintenance costs, increase fleet readiness levels for our valued customers and provide high-tech employment opportunities for UAE nationals."
AMMROC also services other military providers across South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.
"We are helping them build out their shop and their capabilities to help them work in an organic basis," Storch said. "There are many MROs in the world that rely on vendors like us to ship materials to us, but there is a huge difference in cost based on transportation, so the UAE has a design and will do a lot of work in-house in the country and we will assist them to do that."
The approximately 1.2 million-square-foot facility will support more than 40 different types of military aircraft. This is unsurpassed by any other similar facility in the South Asia, Middle East and North Africa region, representatives said.
AAR will design support areas including hangars, work areas and machine and special processes shops for the center, the company said in a statement.
The project will take 18 months to two years to complete, according to AAR. "It really depends on how fast as our partners in the UAE desire it to go," Storch said.
AAR will transfer technology and know-how to the UAE in addition to training the staff as necessary. "It will be their own staff running it, they are looking to hire a lot of folks and we are assisting them to get them ready to do the work," he said.
"This deal allows the UAE government to retain control over maintenance of their military aircraft while leveraging AAR's industry experience and best practices," Storch said in an earlier statement. "While AAR has provided customers with counsel and training in the past, this deal brings our work to the next level, and will hopefully lead to additional opportunities once the facility begins operations." ■
Email: amustafa@defensenews.com.
