ST Aerospace secures C130 contract from Royal Air Force of Oman

The contract includes major servicing of the aircraft, repair and overhaul (R&O) of aircraft components as well as the Rolls-Royce / Allison T56 / 501 engines and its accessories. 

A significant part of the contract also involves the modernisation of the aircraft cockpit, which is complex in nature and involves extensive aircraft wire tear down and re-wire.  The first aircraft is expected to be inducted in the third quarter of 2013, targeting for redelivery in the first quarter of 2014.   

Under the modernisation programme, ST Aerospace will equip RAFO’s fleet of C130 aircraft with an avionics suite that is Global Air Traffic Management (GATM) compliant.  The avionics suite will include a six-display full glass cockpit, digital flight control system, and flight management system.  With this, the aircraft would be able to navigate safely, efficiently and accurately through CNS/ATM-regulated airspace worldwide, significantly improving its operational readiness, despatch reliability and operational efficiency.  RAFO will benefit through improved operational efficiency and lower maintenance requirements, while enhancing its overall aircraft availability. 

An integrated service provider, ST Aerospace leverages its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) expertise, as well as its strong in-house engineering capability, and value adds through performing depot level maintenance and cockpit modernisation simultaneously.  With a short turnaround time of five months, RAFO will enjoy increased savings with minimised downtime of its fleet. 

Air Vice Marshal Matar Ali Al-Obaidani, Commander Royal Air Force of Oman, said: “The Royal Air Force of Oman has enjoyed an excellent working relationship with ST Aerospace for over 20 years.  We are satisfied with its performance level and work quality.  We selected ST Aerospace because it is a one stop centre for the C130 Hercules aircraft and has extensive capabilities on this aircraft platform.  Its ability to undertake depot level maintenance and cockpit modernisation simultaneously is especially advantageous to us, as it minimises downtime and improves aircraft availability of our fleet.”