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2020-09-01

Future of AHRLAC Secured

Paramount Aerospace Industries Proprietary Limited (Paramount Aerospace Industries), part of the Paramount Aerospace and Technology Group, recently announced that the Business Rescue Plans of the Aerospace Development Corporation Proprietary Limited (ADC), the manufacturer of the AHRLAC aircraft and its subsidiaries are in the final phase of implementation.

This is in line with the business rescue plans adopted by the affected parties in October 2019, pursuant to which Paramount Aerospace Industries acquired the businesses of ADC and its subsidiaries in terms of the relevant business rescue plans, which included the sale of the businesses and assets of ADC and its subsidiaries, as well as the assumption of certain liabilities of these entities in accordance with the respective business rescue plan.

Paramount has provided and facilitated significant capital as part of these business rescue processes in the form of both post commencement funding, working capital, capital investment and the assumption of liabilities and loan repayments, in accordance with the provisions of the respective plans. Further capital will be injected into the business over the coming months to support marketing initiatives and manufacturing.

Alison Crooks, CEO of Paramount Industrial Holdings said: “This is great news for the future of the aircraft, for Paramount, for the South African Aerospace industry, as well as for the global aircraft market. Paramount’s decision, more than a decade ago, to fund the development of the AHRLAC aircraft was a matter of national pride and came at a time when the local aerospace industry was searching for a project that would invigorate the sector. Our passion for the country and for innovation is reflected in the direct investment of almost R1 Billion into the project. We are grateful that this strategic programme is now secured and that we can focus on a brighter future. We are delighted to have retained most of the employees who worked on the AHRLAC programme for years and to have created employment for many capable people through our efforts.”

Integrated Design

AHRLAC addresses a key global security requirement by performing missions that previously required several different aircraft. It integrates designs from helicopters, surveillance platforms with the ability to carry multiple systems, such as surveillance radar and electronic systems.

AHRLAC, an acronym for Advanced, High-performance, Reconnaissance Light Aircraft, is a high-wing, push propeller, single-engine aircraft designed as a lower cost alternative to unmanned aircraft for reconnaissance and attack missions.

The aircraft is a smart, innovative ‘command centre in the sky’ that integrates some of the world’s most advanced Multi-Function-Displays, Electro Optical Systems, Electronic Intelligence gathering and compact sensors available today. It is purpose-built to be infinitely reconfigurable. This allows the application of the aircraft in multiple roles and missions in response to diverse customer requirements.

The newly formed Paramount Aerospace Industries will bring new management with a wealth of aerospace engineering and aviation industry experience to the programme. The state-of-the-art factory at Wonderboom Airport, north of Pretoria, South Africa, has been operational for several months under Paramount’s stewardship, with manufacturing being ramped up to ensure the timely delivery of aircraft to customers around the world. Approximately 85 per cent of the original staff of ADC have been retained.

This facility is a vertically integrated operation that uses latest-generation machines to fabricate all airframe components and sub-systems directly from a digital model. All fabricated components are brought together with the engine and avionics on the final assembly line which produces an aircraft ready for flight.

Moreover, all AHRLAC parts are manufactured at the Wonderboom production facility, with very little outsourcing to other suppliers. This has been driven by the need to have total control over the incorporation of the latest materials, digital design processes and digital manufacturing technologies.

This level of control could only be achieved by vertically integrating the full AHRLAC life cycle, and particularly manufacture, without being burdened by a lagging supply chain. So, Wonderboom receives raw materials at one end and delivers the completed aircraft at the other end.

This self-sufficiency has been achieved through heavy investment in manufacturing technology, including five-axis machining. The aircraft incorporates more than 60 3D-printed polymer parts for ducting.

In keeping with Paramount Group’s well-established portable production model, the aircraft could, depending on customer requirements, also be exported in kit format for final assembly in customer countries.

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