Hawker Beechcraft Services Chester Awarded Contract for BAe 146 Conversions for U.K. Royal Air Force

Hawker Beechcraft Global Customer Support (GCS) today announced its factory-owned service center in Chester, United Kingdom has secured a multi-million pound program of work converting two BAe 146-200QC aircraft for the U.K. Ministry of Defence (MoD) under a sub-contract with BAE Systems Regional Aircraft.

The conversion will take the aircraft from commercial to military configuration for use in both passenger and freight roles by the Royal Air Force (RAF), including the safe transportation of troops during in-theater operations. The two aircraft were acquired by the MoD in a separate transaction with TNT Airways S.A of Belgium and will supplement the role of some of the hard-working air transport fleet, particularly the Lockheed C130.

“This is a substantial win for Hawker Beechcraft Services, and we’re honored to continue our relationship with the U.K. MoD and the Royal Air Force,” said Christi Tannahill, senior vice president, Global Customer Support. “We were able to secure this program with our ability to react quickly and mobilize qualified resources and capabilities at very short notice to meet the demands of the MoD’s Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR). The capabilities of ourChesterteam in the special missions sector no doubt played a factor. We have in-depth experience and expertise on this type of modification program and this aircraft type, with the capability to provide design, installation, flight test and certification.”

BAE Systems Regional Aircraft atPrestwickwill be responsible for the design and integration of the military equipment to be fitted to the aircraft, the sourcing of the equipment, management of the supply chain and overall management of the conversion program. Hawker Beechcraft Services Chester will perform the actual conversion. Both aircraft have been delivered fromBelgiumtoChesterand work is underway, with scheduled delivery to the MoD by March 2013.

HBS Chester has previously completed five other UOR programs for the U.K. MoD, three of which were very similar to this conversion. The facility has considerable expertise in the BAe 146 for the RAF, having originally completed the interior conversions of the BAe 146-100s currently in operation and subsequently upgrading these aircraft in recent years.

Headquartered inWichita,Kan., Global Customer Support is dedicated to improving the value of Hawker Beechcraft aircraft by employing products and services to simplify aircraft ownership, reduce operating cost and increase resale value. GCS is comprised of five functional groups that include Support Plus (cost predictability/warranty programs), Hawker Beechcraft Parts & Distribution (genuine factory parts), Hawker Beechcraft Services (factory-owned service centers), Technical Support (Field Support Representatives, Hot Line specialists and Technical Publications) and Global Mission Support (government business and special mission maintenance/training support).

Hawker Beechcraft Corporation is a world-leading manufacturer of business, special mission, light attack and trainer aircraft – designing, marketing and supporting aviation products and services for businesses, governments and individuals worldwide. The company’s headquarters and major facilities are located in Wichita, Kan., with operations in Little Rock, Ark.; Chester, England, U.K.; and Chihuahua, Mexico. The company leads the industry with a global network of more than 100 factory-owned and authorized service centers. For more information, visit www.hawkerbeechcraft.com.