TAE Aerospace has announced it has signed an agreement with Rolls-Royce to perform maintenance and repair services of Adour Mk871 engines used by the RAAF’s fleet of 33 Hawk 127 lead-in fighters.

The incorporation of Adour maintenance adds to TAE’s growing Australian engine maintenance portfolio which includes the GE F404 as used on the F/A-18A/B classic Hornet, the Super Hornet and Growler’s GE F414 engine, the M1A1 Abrams tank’s AGT1500 gas turbine, and the Honeywell TPE331 turboprop as used on commercial J32 and Metro airliners and the MQ-9B SkyGuardian UAS.

The bulk of the work will be performed at TAE’s new Turbine Engine Maintenance Facility near Ipswich in Queensland, while TAE will also provide onsite engine support at Williamtown near Newcastle and Pearce near Perth where the Hawks of 76SQN and 79SQNs are based.

“We are delighted to now be working with TAE Aerospace,” Rolls-Royce plc Adour MRO representative Garry King said in a statement. “Australia is a key defence market for Rolls-Royce and linking with TAE Aerospace’s established Maintenance Repair and Overhaul capabilities will help continue our support of the Adour engine in Australia. We look forward to working with them to support to the engine requirements of the BAE Systems Hawk aircraft.”

TAE Aerospace CEO Andrew Sanderson added, “We are excited to be able to expand our turbine engine MRO capabilities to now include the Rolls-Royce Adour engine in our new Turbine Engine Maintenance Facility in Ipswich and increase employment opportunities in the region. Working with Rolls-Royce is another important step for our company as we continue to build our reputation as a trusted partner for all turbine engine manufacturers here in Australia.

“This also opens potential opportunity to attract business from other regional operators of the Hawk aircraft, such as Malaysia and Indonesia,” Sanderson added. “Like all our existing services, we look forward to delivering our high-quality MRO services for the Adour engine in support of Rolls-Royce here in Australia until the Hawk’s planned withdrawal from service in 2026.”

The RAAF’s Hawk fleet is due to be replaced from 2026, but has suffered from poor availability in recent years due to issues with the high-pressure turbine of the Adour 871 engine, resulting in a couple of fleet-wide groundings.