Airwork Services - Takeover and Current Status

Takeover and Current Status

Following a management buyout in 1988, Airwork became part of the Bricom Group of companies. Airwork were part of the Nobel Group and administered through a bank. In 1992, a contract with the RAF at St. Athan to modify a number of Tornado F.3 aircraft was to have far reaching consequences for the company. Serious damage was caused to the centre fuselage of 16 aircraft during the removal of rivets. When the extent of the damage became clear, the Ministry of Defence cancelled the contract with Airwork and pursued compensation from Bricom. Questions were asked in the Houses of Parliament and the reputation of Airwork — at least in the UK — was dealt a grievous blow. (This was not supported by the facts; the MOD and BAe had produced incorrect engineering drawings.) A multi-million pound compensation settlement was eventually agreed out of court, and the Tornado F.3 aircraft involved were repaired by new contractors, replacing the damaged centre fuselages with those from surplus Tornado F.2 aircraft, which had been earmarked for disposal.

Short Brothers of Belfast, which had itself been bought by the Canadian company Bombardier in 1989, acquired Airwork as a wholly owned subsidiary in November 1993, and the company became known as Bombardier Defence Services Limited. The VT Group subsequently took over the business — renaming it VT Defence — in a £30m deal in June 2000. Whilst in the UK, the former Airwork element of the business which traded under the name VT Aerospace, the name and brand of Airwork is still used prominently in Oman as Airwork Technical Services and Partners LLC, and a new five-year contract to support the Royal Air Force of Oman commenced in January 2005. Airwork Technical Services LLC (ATS) was acquired in July 2010 by Babcock International Group during the acquisition of the VT Group and the operation in Oman continues to this day in support of Aircraft Maintenance and Training for the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) across its military aircraft fleets. Current activities include:

• Technical Support Services - the provision of manpower for all aspects of aircraft maintenance related activities including: quality assurance, safety at work and on-the-job-training and mentoring of technicians.
• Defence Supplies (Logistics) - the provision of equipment and spares, repairs, calibration and other services.
• Technical Training - the training of managers, and instructors who carry out course design, accreditation, quality assurance and instruction in the Air Force Training College.