Rolls-Royce wins new engine support contract in Saudi Arabia

31-1-2013 — /europawire.eu/ — Following agreement between the Governments of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom, under the Saudi British Defence Co-operation Programme, Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, has signed a contract to provide support for engines powering the Royal Saudi Air Force fleet of Tornado combat aircraft.

The four-year agreement provides the repair of modules, accessories and components and a package of new spares for the Tornado’s RB199 engines.

The contract has been agreed with the Saudi Maintenance and Supply Chain Management Company which acts as the logistics supplier to BAE Systems in Saudi Arabia. It enables the Royal Saudi Air Force to benefit from a schedule of fixed price maintenance which seeks to reduce the cost of engine operations.

Nick Durham, Rolls-Royce President of Customer Business – Defence, said:
“We are delighted to have concluded this agreement which will provide the Royal Saudi Air Force with support for its fleet of RB199 engines over the next four years. The Air Force is a longstanding and valued customer and we will continue to work together to provide the best possible support for its expanding Rolls-Royce engine fleet.”

The Middle East Propulsion Company (MEPC) will conduct some of the RB199 module repair work in support of this contract in its recently opened facilities in Riyadh.Rolls-Royce is also assisting MEPC to build up its capability to support T56 engines powering the Royal Saudi Air Force’s C-130 military transport fleet.

1. Rolls-Royce is a world-leading provider of power systems and services for use on land, at sea and in the air, and has established a strong position in global markets – civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy.
2. As a result of this strategy, Rolls-Royce has a broad customer base comprising more than 500 airlines, 4,000 corporate and utility aircraft and helicopter operators, 160 armed forces, more than 4,000 marine customers, including 70 navies, and energy customers in more than 80 countries.
3. Annual underlying revenue was £11.3 billion in 2011, of which more than half came from the provision of services. The firm and announced order book stood at £60.1 billion at 30 June 2012, providing visibility of future levels of activity.
4. Rolls-Royce employs over 40,000 people in offices, manufacturing and service facilities in over 50 countries. Over 11,000 of these employees are engineers.
5. In 2011, Rolls-Royce invested £908 million on research and development, two thirds of which had the objective of further improving the environmental performance of its products, in particular reducing emissions.
6. Rolls-Royce supports a global network of 28 University Technology Centres, which connect the company’s engineers with the forefront of scientific research.
7. The Group has a strong commitment to apprentice and graduate recruitment and to further developing employee skills.