Boeing and DynCorp have formed a joint venture to bid for US military support contracts. Aviation Technical Services, owned equally by Boeing Aerospace Support and DynCorp Technical Services, has submitted its bid for the US Navy's T-45TS training system contractor logistics support programme and will compete for the maintenance contract at the US Army's Fort Rucker aviation training centre.
Boeing is the incumbent contractor for T-45TS support, while DynCorp has the Fort Rucker contract, but the two companies believe their chances of winning the follow-on work will be improved if they combine their skills. Raytheon Aerospace and Sikorsky Aircraft are expected to compete for both contracts. Raytheon Aerospace has been majority-owned by Veritas Capital since its divestiture in 2001, while Sikorsky acquired aftermarket specialist Derco Holdings last year.
Aviation Technical Services plans to combine DynCorp's service experience and cost structure with Boeing's technical capability. The manufacturer produces the US Navy's T-45 Goshawk advanced jet trainer, and its CH-47 Chinook and AH-64 Apache are among the US Army helicopter types maintained under the Fort Rucker contract. The new venture believes supporting the upgraded CH-47F and AH-64D, and the Boeing SikorskyRAH-66 Comanche now under development, will require increased technical capability from the winning contractors.
Source: Flight International
