TYPHOON WHOLE AIRCRAFT SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE AND UPGRADE CONTRACT SIGNED
15 Nov 2006
Warton, United Kingdom. - The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded BAE Systems a contract worth £5.4 million to combine scheduled maintenance of Typhoon aircraft with the current upgrade programme already underway at BAE Systems in Warton.
By combining both the scheduled maintenance and the upgrade programme into one, six additional aircraft can potentially be made available for front line duties, delivering both increased efficiency and effectiveness to the UK’s Royal Air Force (RAF).
The Whole Aircraft Scheduled Maintenance and Upgrade programme, named WASMU for ease, represents the first contractual step of the Typhoon Partnered Support programme and paves the way for BAE Systems to deploy further support capability to the RAF’s front line Typhoon Unit. The contract supports the underlying principles behind the Government’s Defence Industrial Strategy by strengthening through-life support and ensuring continued sovereign capability.
WASMU builds on the proven principles of the Harrier Joint Upgrade and Maintenance Programme and Tornado Combined Maintenance Upgrade contracts and is part of the overall Defence Logistics Transformation Programme.
The MoD Typhoon Integrated Project Team Leader, Air Commodore Alex Deytrikh, stated: “This is an important step forward in the introduction of Typhoon to operational service with the RAF. This contract offers real operational benefits to the front-line, and helps lay the foundations for the Typhoon’s future support solution through closer links with BAE Systems in the delivery of support output.”
Martin Taylor, BAE Systems Typhoon weapon system capability director said: “Combining the maintenance and upgrade of the current Typhoon fleet is a critical activity to support the RAF in meeting the military commitments to be undertaken by the Typhoon Weapon System. Through this contract, BAE Systems will become an integral part of the RAF support process.”
He added: “Although based at Warton, this activity will operate as an extension to the support operations at RAF Coningsby, the Typhoon main operating base. This contract represents a significant step in our journey towards a comprehensive availability service.”
Under WASMU, a programme of primary maintenance activities at 400 flying hours will be carried out at the same time as the ongoing upgrade tasks. Following completion of definition work on the 800 flying hour maintenance package, a follow-on contract for the extension to WASMU through to 2012 is planned.
A joint BAE Systems and RAF management team will oversee the operations at Warton, working closely with the Depth Support Squadron at RAF Coningsby, where all other Typhoon scheduled maintenance currently takes place.
The upgrade programme started in October 2006. It will see 43 ‘Tranche 1’ early-batch Typhoons brought up to a common standard. Whilst the upgrade programme is being delivered under the original Typhoon production contract, the Typhoon Integrated Project Team has worked jointly with BAE Systems to develop the programme to integrate scheduled maintenance into the upgrade programme.
About BAE SYSTEMS
BAE Systems is the premier transatlantic defence and aerospace company delivering a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology solutions and customer support services. With 86,000 employees worldwide, BAE Systems’ sales exceeded GB£15.4 billion (US$28 billion) in 2005.
For further information please contact:
Debbie Stott, BAE Systems
Tel: +44 (0) 1772 852995
debbie.stott@baesystems.com
Lisa Hillary-Tee, BAE Systems
Tel: +44 (0) 1252 38 4934
Mob: +44 (0) 7801 718994
lisa.hillary-tee@baesystems.com
Issued by:
BAE Systems, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 6YU, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1252 384719
Fax: +44 (0) 1252 383947
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