Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies, part of one of the oil-rich
sheikdom’s state-run investment vehicles, said its deal with the US company’s
Sikorsky Aerospace Services division is designed to provide maintenance, repair
and overhaul services to the Emirati armed forces and other militaries in the
region. The UAE is a longtime ally of the United States, and its military
relies heavily on American and Western European aircraft.
“Putting these two companies together will be the right move
to capture the lucrative market in the region,” ADAT Chairman Homaid
Al-Shemmari told The Associated Press.
“With our local knowledge and reach .... and the
capabilities Sikorsky can bring form the US, it’s a perfect match.” The new
venture will eventually be housed at a facility in Al Ain, an Emirati city
about 160 km east of the capital Abu Dhabi, on the border with Oman.
It will also operate on Emirati military bases, with an
initial focus on servicing some of the country’s more than 400-strong fleet,
which includes Mirage fighters from France and American-made F-16 planes and
Apache attack helicopters.
Al-Shemmari said the company aims to service 10 percent of
the Middle East and North Africa military maintenance market by the end of the
decade. It is expected to create more than 1,000 new jobs, with an emphasis on
employing Emiratis, who make up only a small fraction of the nation’s largely
foreign work force.
Sikorsky Aerospace is part of Stratford, Connecticut-based
helicopter maker Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a unit of United Technologies Corp.
ADAT was created in 2007 and is owned by the emirate’s
Mubadala Development Co. investment arm.
Mubadala has been at the forefront of Abu Dhabi’s efforts to
turn the emirate into a regional aerospace hub as part of a broader effort to
diversify its economy away from oil.
It has previously signed partnership deals with Airbus
parent EADS and engine maker Rolls-Royce Group PLC.
