Waikato-based aircraft manufacturing company NZAero has signed a multi-million dollar deal to provide aircraft maintenance for the Royal Thai Air Force.
This week, NZAero signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Thai Aviation Industries Co (TAI) for the exclusive supply of parts as well as collaboration to expand TAI’s maintenance, repair and overhaul capability for the service and repair of Government aircraft in Thailand.
NZAero chief executive Stephen Burrows said Thailand had the second-largest economy in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and an annual defence budget of more than $10 billion.
“The new multi-year agreement signed between Thai Aviation Industries Co ... and NZAero is set to triple the value of parts and maintenance exports to that market and help strengthen our relationship.”
He said Thailand had plans to phase out its existing fleet of aircraft and replace it with NZAero’s new utility aircraft.
“The deal will see NZAero supply a range of over 800 parts for Thailand’s CT4 Airtrainer fleet, for use in military training operations.
“Other Kiwi aviation repair firms will also benefit from regular maintenance contracts to overhaul engines. A single-engine could cost up to $100,000 to overhaul and Thailand has two dozen of these aircraft in use,” Burrows said.
The agreement was signed in Thailand as part of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s seven-day visit with an accompanying business delegation to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.
Talking about the MOU, Luxon, said: “New Zealand has a serious ambition to lift our relationships with this region in ways that deliver real benefits and that advance our shared security and economic interests.
“The MOU signed by NZAero in Thailand is a great outcome on all fronts and I would like to congratulate NZAero on its success in South East Asia.”
Burrows said New Zealand had a longstanding history as an aviation supplier to Thailand as the Thai air force had purchased 72 New Zealand-made aircraft and millions of dollars of parts over the last 50 years.
However, this was the first time an exclusive parts and service agreement had been formalised.
He said the deal was a multi-million dollar boost for New Zealand’s aeronautical industry and could result in dozens more jobs and a significant expansion of the local industry.
“[Thailand]... allocates around $1.8billion to its air force each year.
“In addition, the Thai government wants its commercial aviation sector to become a key regional hub within the next five years and has ambitious plans to transform its major airports in Bangkok and Phuket.”
He said NZAero anticipated opportunities for New Zealand to support this aspiration.
Burrows said NZAero’s aircraft also played a growing role in supporting the military-led humanitarian needs of its regional partners and in helping to address the impact of climate change.
“In countries like Thailand where the heat index can reach as high as 54°C, precipitation is becoming less frequent and droughts are more prevalent and intense.
“At the start of every year Thailand’s Department of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation initiates a cloud-seeding programme to stimulate artificial rain and dampen down fine particulates in the air caused by vehicle emissions and agricultural practices, as well as mitigating dry weather conditions in the main crop-growing areas.
“This operation utilises a fleet of 30 rainmaking aircraft to ease the impact of climate change on the country’s farming sector and prevent hailstorms and forest fires in some regions of the country.”
NZAero recently launched its SuperPac XSTOL (Extremely Short Take-Off and Landing) aircraft which is designed for high altitudes in hot and humid climates.
“We would be able to migrate [Thailand] from their current labour-intensive process where dry ice/salt are manually fed from sacks through a hole in an aircraft, to our new model which holds material in a dust-free hopper that can be released electronically using GPS or using pilot controls,” Burrows said.
Burrows said the SuperPac could also be reconfigured for humanitarian and defence roles including border patrol, Search and Rescue, skydive deployment, rainmaking, pollution control, firefighting as well as passenger/freight, agricultural operations and geophysical survey.
“They could reduce their fleet size by about 50 per cent with each SuperPac being capable of delivering twice the payload of their current aircraft and convert the aircraft from rain making to pollution control or even firefighting - within half an hour.
“We are also looking at customising rainmaking technology for this market,” he said.
Looking ahead, Burrows said the company would also meet with defence force decision-makers and private aviation operators in Singapore and the Philippines for opportunities in those countries.