Cameroon has awarded a multi-million dollar contract to UK based Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group for the maintenance, training, and support of the country’s Lockheed Martins C-130H Hercules aircraft fleet.
The business will take place over a period of five-years, and was signed in 2019 by Marshall ADG Sales Director, Matthew Harvey, and Brigadier General Jean-Calvin Momha, Chief of Air Staff Cameroon Air Force, at Air Force Headquarters in the Cameroon capital Yaounde.
The Cameroonian C-130H fleet will be maintained in Marshall ADG Cambridge facility, in the United Kingdom, and Cameroons Air Force logistics partner Aeromec will also participate. Marshall ADG will also provide technical training to Cameroonian Air Force personnel to handle front line maintenance and support.
“The Cameroon Air Force demands the very highest standards of support across all its fleets and the C-130 provides critical capability to our important airlift missions,” Momha said. “Marshall ADG has an excellent reputation within the industry for providing world-class support on the C-130 and our evaluation process confirmed that their solution delivered the best value for money. We look forward to developing a solid long term relationship with Marshall and seeing the benefits that their experience will bring to our C-130 operations.”
Marshall ADG CEO, Alistair McPhee, said, “We are delighted that the Cameroon Air Force selected our tender as the most competitive solution to deliver support to the operations of their C-130 fleet. We are proud to support the largest customer base of C-130 operators in the world and this latest contract is very much testimony to the extensive knowledge and expertise of our skilled workforce on large military aircraft.
“We thank the Cameroon Air Force for the trust they have shown in Marshall ADG and look forward to building on this success within the African continent.”
Cameroon operates three C-130H transport aircraft aged between 38 and 42 years, the trio have an estimated unit cost of $12 million. The Hercules and CN235-300 are configured as troop/cargo transports, while the MA60 is outfitted for passenger flights.
Cameroon air force’s fixed-wing airlift inventory also includes lone examples of the Airbus Defence & Space CN235 and AVIC Xian MA60.
Cameroon has previously used Denel, Sabena Technics and OGMA for C-130s maintenance, with Portugal’s OGMA being the most recent maintenance provider. Basic maintenance was carried out in Cameroon and heavier work in Portugal.