Overseas contenders line up for contract to reactivate grounded Hercules transports
Indonesia has opened a competition to select a foreign maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) company to help refurbish its fleet of Lockheed Martin C-130 transports. Jakarta is preparing to reactivate several of its grounded Hercules using $15 million in parts that are being acquired from the US government.
Industry sources say several international MRO shops have expressed interest in the programme, including Malaysia’s Airod, Abu Dhabi-based Gulf Aircraft Maintenance, Florida-based Kellstrom Industries, Australia’s Qantas Defence Services, Singapore Technologies Aerospace and France’s Sogerma. Indonesian Aerospace says it has been asked by the air force to partner with whichever MRO concern wins the competition, and to conduct the work at its Bandung facility. Indonesia has traditionally outsourced its C-130 heavy maintenance because its domestic capability is limited, but sources say the new tender requires most of the work to be done in-country.
Indonesia operates around six C-130s and has been looking to reactivate aircraft from its original fleet of over 20 Hercules since the December 2004 Asian tsunami. Sources say Jakarta late last year opened a $15 million foreign military sales (FMS) case with Washington for the purchase of C-130 parts from the US Air Force, adding that the first batch will be delivered shortly and used to reactivate aircraft.
The number of aircraft to be overhauled under the programme is unclear as an external assessment of the fleet has not yet taken place. Sources say another $13 million in FMS funding, which had been frozen since 1994 until Washington lifted its partial arms embargo on Indonesia last November, may also be funnelled to acquiring C-130 parts. Jakarta also has expressed an interest in reactivating its Lockheed F-16A/B fighters, but has not yet opened an FMS case to purchase the required parts.
BRENDAN SOBIE / SINGAPORE
Source: Flight International
