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.
