RUSSIA LOOKING TO EXPAND ITS HELICOPTER REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE FACILITIES IN AFRICA
NEWTOWN, Conn. - With over 600 Russian-built helicopters operating in Africa, Russia is looking to expand its repair and maintenance facilities on the continent.
During the African Aerospace & Defence (AAD) exhibition, Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, Alexander Fomin, says that Russia is interested in developing military and technical cooperation with South Africa, taking into account South Africa's technological support base.
At the previous AAD exhibition in September 2012, Russian Helicopters signed an agreement with South Africa's Denel on the establishment of a regional service center for Russian helicopters in the African region. The MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) center was then launched in March 2013.
With defense spending among African nations expected to surpass $48.6 billion by 2018, global defense firms have started to eye the African market more closely. This has sparked an intense competition between non-African companies while opening up an array of possible joint ventures and technology transfer agreements with African firms. In line with this, within the first three months of 2014, five global defense companies announced plans to open factories, maintenance facilities and offices in four southern and eastern African countries.
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