Britain's Defense Aviation Repair Agency (DARA) claims to be Europe's largest government-owned "one-stop shop" facility. It deals with not only maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and upgrades of U.K. Defense Ministry and other aircraft, systems and components, but also for engines and avionics. DARA is part of the MoD's Defense Logistics Organization (DLO). It operates from four main centers throughout the U.K., each dealing with different equipment areas.
Its largest center, which also is DARA's head office, at RAF St. Athan air base in south Wales, undertakes a full range of MRO services for RAF BAE VC10 transports, Hawk trainers, plus Jaguar, Tornado and RN Sea Harrier FA.2 combat aircraft. St. Athan's support facilities include extensive machine and structural workshops, inspection and test equipment, plus non-destructive testing (NDT) and composite materials capabilities.
In addition to normal MRO tasks, major modification, life-extension and upgrade programs also are undertaken. The latter recently included participation in BAE System's now-completed massive Tornado GR.4/4A modernization and maintenance contracts. DARA's fast-jet aircraft maintenance facilities at St. Athan are being enhanced from construction of a new triple "super hangar," with an area of no less than 700,000 sq. ft., able to house up to 50 combat or fewer large aircraft and a massive neighboring support building. These will employ flow-type maintenance techniques, rather than stall or pulse lines.
Faced with defense budget limitations, requiring earlier retirement of many U.K. military aircraft, while at the same time experiencing ever-increasing operational demands and deployments, DARA must meet ensuing British armed forces requirements for improved efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Since its establishment as a Trading Fund in April 2001, DARA has streamlined and changed its entire ethos, operations and culture, while initially benefiting from a guaranteed three-year MoD order book. This ended last April, however, and new contracts are being sought from wider sources.
Commenting on this situation, new DARA CEO Archie Hughes said, "Early indication of our ability to be successful in this context has been positive -- recently winning the first significant open competition for RAF BAE Hawk jet-trainer major overhauls -- and we're confident of our ability to win more competitions." DARA also had received an extension for contract work until July 2005 on the last major overhauls of RAF BAE Jaguar ground-attack fighters, he added, before their planned 2008 service retirement.
Another major contract award, worth £207 million ($373 million), had been received jointly by the DLO's Air Refueling & Communications integrated project team (IPT), BAE Systems and DARA on Dec. 19, 2003. Known as the JAVELIN (Joint Approach to VC10 Engineering and Logistics) program, this involves eight-year maintenance of the RAF's 20 VC10 four-turbofan tanker/transports. As prime contractor, BAE Systems will provide guaranteed levels of VC10 availability through spares-inclusive first- and second-line maintenance, sub-contracted to DARA, which also will ensure availability of an agreed level of airframe components. On May 24 this year, the JAVELIN team was presented with an MoD Smart Acquisition award for this innovative long-term program.
Further DARA program expansion was reflected in a recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed with Westland Helicopters, to undertake work on components for export customers, including Pakistan and Qatar. Depot level MRO services also are offered at DARA's Fleetlands-based Rotary-wing Operations Unit (ROU) center at Gosport, near Southampton, for most MoD military helicopters. These include Boeing Chinooks, plus Westland Gazelles, Lynx and Sea Kings, although the RAF has its own Westland/Aerospatiale Puma depot maintenance facility at the type's Benson base, near Oxford.
DARA Fleetlands recently completed urgent MoD requirements for installing M147 programmable chaff/flare systems in 10 RAF Pumas, for British support operations in Iraq, from modification kits manufactured by St. Athan's facility. Started in July 2003, the program was due for completion by January 2004, then brought forward for redeployment in Iraq in early December. Joint efforts by the Fleetlands team managed to complete the program some eight weeks ahead of the original schedule, with turn-round times reduced by 33%. DARA was then tasked with embodiment and functional testing of similar M147 systems in 33 more Pumas from June 2004.
A tight time-scale also was met by DARA with recent prototype conversion of a Royal Navy Westland Sea King HAS.Mk 6 from its original anti-submarine warfare (ASW) role to become a troop-carrying HC.Mk 6C Commando assault helicopter. This involved replacing the ASW equipment with a transport modification kit and restoring the Sea King to airworthy standards. The project was achieved on time on Jan. 16, for Military Aircraft Release clearance trials to be completed by QinetiQ.
Co-located with the ROU at Fleetlands is DARA's Engines Operations Unit (EOU), which provides MRO facilities and support for aircraft and marine gas-turbine powerplant modules. A universal test rig and other facilities are available for overhauled or repaired jet-engines up to 40,000-lb. thrust and turboshafts between 100 shp and 5,000 shp. Additional facilities are available for full MRO support of marine Rolls-Royce Olympus and Tyne gas-turbines for Royal Navy warships.
DARA's fourth main division, at its Sealand center, near Chester, undertakes MRO and upgrades of a vast range of electronics and avionics and is claimed as the largest of its kind in Europe. Its comprehensive electrical, test and cryptographic equipment now extends to cover the latest military technologies, including electronic counter-measures, EPROM software, head-up and cockpit displays, INS, IFF, radar, laser and communications systems for defense and industry customers in the U.K. and overseas.
DARA Electronics recently received a £16.17 million ($29 million) 12-month MoD contract extension for in-depth repair of a variety of radar, communications, ECM, computer and laser systems for RAF, Army Air Corps and Royal Navy combat and transport fixed-wing aircraft, and helicopters.
As its remaining principal facility, DARA's Components Operations Unit (COU) at Almondbank in Scotland, received a long-term contract last April from the European MBDA missile group. The COU will manufacture and subsequently repair components for MBDA's Rapier FSC mobile air-defense missile system.
Looking ahead, DARA's corporate plan is based on expansion of wider and commercial markets, in which some success already has been achieved. Future prospects include possible contracts to support NATO forces, and partnerships with major manufacturers, such as Boeing, for Chinook and Apache helicopter support.