Defence

Taiwan's Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) and maintenance company Air Asia last week submitted bids for a new support contract covering Taiwan's current Bell AH-1W attack helicopters. AIDC may partner EVA Air maintenance subsidiary Evergreen Aviation Technology for the line maintenance, depot-level overhaul, spare parts procurement and inventory management work, currently conducted in the USA by Bell.

 Air Asia already maintains Bell TH-67 and OH-58D helicopters for the Taiwanese military, while Evergreen maintains the army's General Electric T700 engines. AIDC also hopes to receive a contract from Bell to retrofit Taiwan's AH-1Ws with new communications and navigation equipment. The UScompany will serve as prime contractor for the upgrade.