Philip Smart | Adelaide
Aviation gas turbine engine maintenance and engineering company TAE has won its first major land based contract, with a five year agreement to support the Honeywell AGT1500 engine that powers Australia’s M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks.
TAE has provided “Triage” repairs for the AGT1500 for 18 months, but the new agreement with DMO will broaden the relationship to include program management, deeper maintenance, engineering and supply support.
It will essentially repatriate AGT1500 support to Australia rather than sending engines back to the US manufacturer for repair.
The company will commission a new AGT1500 Engine Test Facility at its RAAF Base Amberley in Queensland in March, which will use an advanced PC-based data acquisition system as part of engine overhaul testing.
Engine OEM Honeywell will provide spares, data and technical support.
The test cell was designed and manufactured in house by TAE’s Engine Test Cell support team.
TAE has also recently been selected to maintain the Pratt and Whitney F135 engines in Australia’s Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.
The company already handles F404 and F414 engines for Australian F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet aircraft.