(Nov 9): Malaysia's aerospace firm Airod Sdn Bhd has secured a five year US$25 million contract from the United States Navy to service its aircraft.

The contract, awarded to Airod by the US Navy's Fleet Logistics Center Yokosuka, will see 25 engineers and technicians servicing 13 KC-130J aircraft.

The agreement is a significant US government investment to Malaysia's aerospace defence industry, a press statement from the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur said.

It said it demonstrated strengthened US-Malaysia defence trade ties following President Barack Obama’s April 2014 announcement of a comprehensive partnership between the two nations.

Subang-based Airod is well-known for providing aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services to planes belonging to the Malaysian air force.

It had previously also provided services to the US Air Force and is an authorised Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules service centre.

“We are impressed with Airod's and National Aerospace & Defence Industries Group's depot maintenance knowledge, experience and technical ability on the C-130 aircraft,” said Lt. Col. Thomas A. Atkinson, U.S. Navy’s Fleet Readiness Center Western Pacific (FRCWP) commanding officer.

“We feel fortunate to be partnering with Airod and through this contract have greatly increased our ability to support the aircraft readiness requirements of the US Navy and Marine Corps.”

Under the new contract, Airod will perform maintenance on KC-130J aircraft in support of a US Marine Corps Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron stationed in Japan.

Work on the first aircraft is planned to start in January 2016.

The agreement also includes potential in-service repair throughout the contract, such as component/part repairs, corrosion control, rework, drop-in repair, manufacturing parts, and other similar work for forward deployed US Navy and Marine Corps C-130 aircraft.

The repairs could take place at the Airod facility, or anywhere within the US military’s Western Pacific Area of Responsibility.

“Airod brings great skills and field service repair capabilities to Fleet Readiness Center Western Pacific and the KC-130J fleet in the Pacific,” said Timothy Campbell, FRCWP's C-130 program management technical representative, in the statement. – The Malaysian Insider