BAE Systems has received a contract from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to extend the Typhoon Availability Service (TAS) for the in-service support of the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) Typhoon multi-role combat aircraft fleet.
Under the terms of £100m contract, the company will continue to work in collaboration with the RAF to help them to meet their operational requirements.
Specifically, the company will be responsible for delivery of Typhoon aircrew and ground crew training, maintenance and the servicing of the aircraft, and provision of technical support and management of spares, repairs and logistics.
BAE Systems Military Air Support business director Nigel Davey said, ”We have worked hard over the last five years, in partnership with the UK MOD and RAF, to develop a service that ensures the RAF are able to meet their operational requirements and that it is also cost-effective for the UK taxpayer.”
UK MoD Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) Fast Air Support Project Team availability operations manager Peter Davidson said, ”This enables us to jointly embed the best practice and lessons learnt from the first 5 years of the TAS contract and deliver lasting benefit to the RAF front-line, MOD DE&S organisation and BAE Systems.”
UK Defence Equipment, Support and Technology Minister Philip Dunne said, ”Typhoon is the cornerstone of the UK’s air defence and will benefit from continued in-service support provided by BAE Systems in partnership with the RAF.”
BAE currently supports the fleet at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, RAF Leuchars in Fife, and the Falkland Islands.
Work under the contract is scheduled to run until the end of 2014.
Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multirole fighter manufactured by a consortium of EADS, Alenia Aeronautica and BAE for deployment during air operations, including air policing, peace support and high-intensity conflict missions across the globe.
Image: BAE Systems engineers maintain a Typhoon aircraft at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, UK. Photo: courtesy of BAE Systems.