UAE Air Force awards $3 billon maintenance contact to local firm GAL

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Edge Group subsidiary GAL has won an 11 billion dirham (U.S $3 billion) contract for performance-based logistics during the Dubai Airshow this week. Under the deal, the company will supply the United Arab Emirates’ Air Force and air defense units with maintenance, repair and overhaul , or MRO, services.

“This agreement is testament to GAL’s continued growth and overarching goal of delivering solutions to meet complex MRO and supply chain requirements,” Khalid Al Breiki, president of Edge’s mission support division and managing director of GAL, said in a statement.

The arrangement allows UAE military customers to receive aviation MRO services under a cost-per-flight-hour model.

To fulfil this agreement, GAL signed another contract with a separate Edge subsidiary, AMMROC, to perform the maintenance at the latter’s Al Ain facility, which was first unveiled at the 2019 Dubai Airshow. The facility, which is a single square kilometer and is directly connected to the Al Ain International Airport, features a 36,500-square-meter hangar space with five hangars. The facility is able to support more than 35 different fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft types.

“Since its unveiling, Al Ain facility was expected to get major regional maintenance contracts from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and the region, but it has not inked any major contract yet,” an industrial source with knowledge of the matter told Defense News on the condition of anonymity.

Under the subcontract, AMMROC will help perform aircraft, engine and component depot-level maintenance services.

In July 2020, Edge had entered into a conditional agreement to acquire the remaining 40 percent stake of AMMROC that was held by Lockheed Martin. The source denied any relation between the Lockheed deal and the latest contracts involving GAL and AMMROC.

The head of AMMROC, Hareb Al Dhaheri, said in a statement that the subcontract “goes a long way in adding value for our customers through reducing turnaround times and ensuring best-in-class, localised solutions.”

In an interview with the AMMROC executive prior to this year’s air show, Al Dhaheri told Defense News that ever since if delivered its first C-130H from the Al Ain facility in September 2020 following MRO services, the company has performed maintenance for at least six C-130 aircraft in its hangars.

“Other aircraft inducted for heavy checks include CN-235 and A330 MRTT. In addition to aircraft heavy checks, we also have been providing components and engine overhauls and repairs for multiple aircraft types, both fixed and rotary wing,” he said at the time.

Agnes Helou was a Middle East correspondent for Defense News. Her interests include missile defense, cybersecurity, the interoperability of weapons systems and strategic issues in the Middle East and Gulf region.

阿联酋迪拜——本周在迪拜航展上，Edge集团旗下子公司GAL赢得了一份价值110亿迪拉姆（约合30亿美元）的绩效物流合同。根据协议，该公司将为阿联酋空军和防空部队提供维护、修理和大修（MRO）服务。

Edge 任务支持部门总裁兼 GAL 总经理 Khalid Al Breiki 在一份声明中表示：“这项协议证明了 GAL 的持续增长和提供解决方案以满足复杂的 MRO 和供应链需求的总体目标。”

该安排允许阿联酋军方客户按飞行小时成本模式获得航空维修、修理和大修 (MRO) 服务。

为履行该协议，GAL与Edge集团旗下另一家子公司AMMROC签署了另一份合同，由AMMROC在其位于艾因的设施内进行维护工作。该设施于2019年迪拜航展上首次亮相。该设施占地1平方公里，与艾因国际机场直接相连，拥有36,500平方米的机库空间，内设五个机库。该设施能够为超过35种不同的固定翼和旋翼飞机提供支持。

一位了解此事的业内人士匿名告诉《防务新闻》：“自艾因工厂落成以来，人们一直期望它能从海湾合作委员会国家和该地区获得重要的区域维护合同，但至今尚未签署任何重大合同。”

根据分包合同，AMMROC 将协助执行飞机、发动机和部件的基地级维护服务。

2020年7月，Edge公司与洛克希德·马丁公司达成有条件协议，拟收购其持有的AMMROC公司剩余40%的股份。消息人士否认洛克希德·马丁公司的这笔交易与GAL和AMMROC公司最近签订的合同有任何关联。

AMMROC 的负责人 Hareb Al Dhaheri 在一份声明中表示，该分包合同“通过缩短周转时间和确保一流的本地化解决方案，大大增加了我们客户的价值”。

在今年航展之前，AMMROC 的一位高管 Al Dhaheri 在接受《防务新闻》采访时表示，自 2020 年 9 月从艾因工厂接收第一架 C-130H 完成 MRO 服务以来，该公司已在其机库中为至少六架 C-130 飞机进行了维护。

“其他接受大修的飞机还包括CN-235和A330 MRTT。除了飞机大修外，我们还为多种机型（包括固定翼和旋翼飞机）提供零部件和发动机的大修和维修服务，”他当时说道。

阿格尼斯·赫卢曾任《防务新闻》中东记者。她的研究领域包括导弹防御、网络安全、武器系统互操作性以及中东和海湾地区的战略问题。