Helicopter maintenance for Swedish military to be provided by Saab

Posted by John McHaleSTOCKHOLM, Sweden, 9 May 2011. The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) selected Saab to provide support and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) Helicopter 15 (Agusta 109 LUHS), operated by the Swedish military.Saab will support and maintain of all 20 helicopters including materiel and technical personnel; base staff in the form of management, planning, and administration; manage logistics and materiel provision; and provide on-call services in the form of additional technical personnel. The commitment is part of the strategic development within Saab towards a broader civil and military helicopter operation. "With this contract, we are consolidating our previous long-standing and strong cooperation with the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration and the Swedish armed forces regarding their helicopter operations. For Saab, this strengthens our core business," says Lars-Erik Wige head of Saab's Support and Services business area. "For Saab, this total commitment regarding Helicopter 15 is a significant and vital step in driving development further within this area," says Torsten Ohman, head of the Customer Alliance Solutions division and responsible for helicopter operations within the Support and Services business area. Helicopter 15 currently operates from two bases in Sweden, Linkoping and Ronneby. Linkoping is the main base for maintenance, inspections, and repairs, meaning that the majority of Saab's support and maintenance resources will be based there, including technicians, mechanics, and base staff. The base in Ronneby will also have the capacity for flights and limited maintenance, inspections and troubleshooting. The contract extends over a period of 6 years beginning in 2012 with option for additional 2 years and thereafter another 2 years.