Rolls-Royce has announced that it has secured an 11-year maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) contract from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) for the Ardour engines which power the Hawk jet trainer fleet, including the world-famous Red Arrows, the RAF Aerobatic Team.
The contract enables Rolls-Royce to provide its MRO services for both variants of the Ardour jet engine at Rolls-Royce’s UK Defence Headquarters in Bristol together with representatives at RAF Valley who will provide in-situ advice to operations.
“The agreement announced today will allow us to maximise the availability and supportability of the Adour engine for our customer. We have an established and valuable relationship with the UK Government and armed forces, and we are proud to continue to support them into the next decade and beyond,” said Alex Zino, EVP Business Development and Future Programmes at Rolls-Royce Defence.
The Adour Mk951 engine powers the BAE Systems Hawk TMk2 Advanced Jet Trainer, the key platform in the Fast Jet Pilot stream within the UK Military Flying Training System (MFTS) and the Hawk TMk1 aircraft, operating in the Red Arrows which are powered by the Adour Mk151 variant. Adour is a collaborative engine between Rolls-Royce and Safran and is a twin spool, counter-rotating turbofan engine that delivers thrust in the range of 5,000 to 8,000 lb.