Australian Aerospace and Lockheed Martin have been awarded a $292 million contract by the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) to provide Through Life Support services for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) fleet of 12 C-130J Hercules.
“This contract will provide innovative solutions to C-130J maintenance and is designed to reduce the cost of ownership into the future,” DMO’s Head Aerospace Division, Air Vice-Marshal, Colin Thorne, said.
“The DMO, Royal Australian Air Force, Australian Aerospace and Lockheed Martin will work closely in order to provide ongoing support to the C-130J aircraft fleet, thereby increasing availability to the Air Force.”
The five-year performance-based contract links annual contract extensions to contractor performance and cost reduction and can be extended on a year by year basis dependant on performance.
Subject to contractor performance, support of the C-130J aircraft will continue under this contracting strategy until the fleet’s planned withdrawal date.
As part of the contract, Australian Aerospace and Lockheed Martin will deliver services including aircraft maintenance, engineering and supply chain management.
C-130J engine support will continue to be provided by Standard Aero under an existing contract arrangement.