Sabena Aerospace, a BLUEBERRY Company, and Blue Aerospace, a HEICO Company, today announced the award of the sale of the Belgian Defense C-130 aircraft fleet and associated equipment & inventory by the Belgian Defense Organization. This award resulted from the Belgian Defense Tender No. MRMP – A/A2 N° 19AAV01 and consists of all assets related to the Belgian Air Component (Air Force) C-130 fleet including, aircraft, engines, propellers, spare parts, and ground support equipment.
Michael Navon, Blue Aerospace President, added, “We are delighted to team with Sabena Aerospace on this well-maintained fleet of C130H aircraft, utilizing Sabena’s decades of experience in maintaining this fleet. We also see this as the beginning of a long-term cooperation with other BLUEBERRY portfolio companies.”
Eric Mendelson, Co-President of HEICO Corporation and President & CEO of HEICO Flight Support Group commented, “We are very excited to team with BLUEBERRY and its subsidiary SABENA Aerospace. This purchase will further accelerate HEICO’s continued growth in the defense sustainment market, as we make the assets available for resale to end users worldwide.”
Stephane Burton, BLUEBERRY President and Sabena Aerospace CEO commented, “The award will guarantee Sabena Aerospace with continued work for its C130 maintenance line in Belgium, as the Belgian Air Force moves operations to the A400 fleet. This will also provide the Belgium economy with a tangible return and allow Sabena Aerospace to expand its end-to-end C130 maintenance offering to new or existing C130 operators. We are very pleased to be partnering with Blue Aerospace, an industry leader in defense aftermarket support, and we see this as the beginning of an expanding and long-term relationship that will lead to other platforms and projects under the newly created BLUEBERRY company.”
Sabena Aerospace is part of the group BLUEBERRY. Through its subsidiaries Sabena Aerospace and Sabca, BLUEBERRY is active in the design, development and manufacture of aviation and aerospace equipment, offers maintenance services for aircraft (Transport aircraft (C130, A400M), Fighter aircraft (F16, Mirage, Alphajet, etc.), helicopters and UAVs) and will bring solutions to drive the development of the industry as a whole. Sabena Aerospace is an independent Belgian MRO provider operating at an international level and offering maintenance and operational solutions for both civil and military aircraft. The activities of Sabena Aerospace are structured in four Business Units: Engineering & Training, Operational Support, Components and Defense. Sabena Aerospace employs over 400 people and develops its activities from its historic headquarters at Brussels Airport, thanks to its facilities in nine countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
HEICO Corporation is engaged primarily in the design, production, servicing and distribution of products and services to certain niche segments of the aviation, defense, space, medical, telecommunications and electronics industries through its Hollywood, Florida-based Flight Support Group and its Miami, Florida-based Electronic Technologies Group. HEICO’s customers include a majority of the world’s airlines and overhaul shops, as well as numerous defense and space contractors and military agencies worldwide, in addition to medical, telecommunications and electronics equipment manufacturers.
BLUE AEROSPACE is dedicated to aerospace aftermarket sustainment to the international military end user community and their respective maintenance facilities. Blue Aerospace holds several long-term agreements with OEM’s such as Lockheed, General Dynamics, Rolls Royce, Cobham, Heroux, Moog, GKN, Meggitt, HEICO and others.
