Airbus Defence and Space and Enaer today signed a cooperation agreement in Chile to expand their existing joint business in aircraft maintenance and upgrading, thereby boosting activities such as the C212 aircraft Maintenance Centre and the upgrading of the fleet of C101 aircraft.

The eventual aim of the agreement signed today by the European aerospace company and the Chilean company, which have been working together for more than 30 years, is to strengthen industrial ties between the two companies, taking into account the needs of the Chilean Armed Forces, as well as allowing Enaer to obtain approval as a Service Provider Centre for C212 aircraft.

As part of its policy of establishing an “MRO Network”, the European aerospace company has, for this purpose, identified Enaer as a possible preferred local partner for the maintenance of aircraft sold by Airbus Defence and Space and belonging both to the Chilean fleet and to other countries in Latin America.

The partnership agreement was signed today by the Head of Military Aircraft Sales at Airbus Defence and Space, Antonio Rodríguez Barberán, and the CEO of Enaer and Chilean Air Force Brigadier General Henry Cleveland. The event took place as part of the eighteenth edition of the FIDAE International Aerospace Show, held from 25 to 28 March at the Arturo Merino Benítez Airport in Santiago de Chile.

“It was a great pleasure to sign this cooperation agreement with Enaer, a company with which we have such close historical ties. We are today strengthening not only our cooperation with this company, but with the whole Chilean aerospace industry, now gathered together during this latest edition of the Fidae show,” said Antonio Rodríguez Barberán.

Airbus Defence and Space and Enaer’s long-standing and successful cooperation dates back to the 1980s, when they started working together on acquisition programmes for the Chilean Armed Forces. Their cooperation has been extended to various fields, from the manufacturing of the C101 to the joint production of parts for the CN235 and C295 aircraft, the development of airborne systems and the providing of maintenance services for the C212.

Airbus Group press release