ST Engineering Aerospace

ST Engineering Aerospace, formerly known as ST Aerospace, is the commercial aerospace entity of ST Engineering. Headquartered in Singapore, it has international offices and facilities located at aviation hubs in Asia-Pacific, Europe and the United States. ST Engineering's Commercial Aerospace business provides aircraft design and engineering, original equipment manufacturing, nose-to-tail aftermarket and maintenance services as well as assets management and leasing. And also passenger-to-freighter conversion or refurbishment.
ST Engineering Aerospace was established in 1975 to provide maintenance and support services to the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF). Since then, it has diversified into various MRO capabilities for commercial and military aircraft through a number of strategic partnerships, acquisitions and investments. Major undertakings have included development of the A-4SU Super Skyhawk, a highly modified model of the Douglas A-4S Skyhawk, and the Eurocopter EC120 Colibri programme, a lightweight helicopter, in partnership with Airbus Helicopters and China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC).
In 2021, ST Engineering Aerospace reportedly employs more than 8,500 certified engineers and administrative specialists around the world and has a global customer base that includes major airlines and freight carriers. Aviation Week ranked the aerospace company as the world's largest, independent, third party airframe MRO provider with an annual capacity of more than 13 million commercial airframe man-hours in 2018.
During the 1980s, ST Engineering Aerospace commenced work on a major upgrade programme on the Douglas A-4S Skyhawk attack aircraft then in service with the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF). Referred to as the A-4SU Super Skyhawk, the modification package involved replacing the original Wright J65 turbojet engine with a non-afterburning model of the newer General Electric F404-GE-100D turbofan engine, along with a complete modernisation of the avionics suite and additional equipment being installed, including a Pave Penny laser seeker, an Inertial navigation system (INS), a Tactical air navigation system (TACAN), fore & aft Radar warning receivers (RWR) and chaff/flare countermeasures) of the aircraft. The F404 engine provided 29% more thrust, resulting in a 30% reduction in takeoff time as well as an increase in usable payload, range and maximum speed of 610 knots (1,130 km/h; 700 mph) at sea level. In total, approximately 150 airframes (all A-4Bs and Cs) were acquired by Singapore.
Since the 1990s, ST Engineering Aerospace has been a partner involved in the Eurocopter EC120 Colibri programme. On 20 October 1992, a contract for the joint development contract of the new helicopter was signed by the three principle partners of the project, the newly-formed Eurocopter, China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC) and ST Engineering Aerospace. Under the joint development agreement, Eurocopter received a 61% controlling interest and technical leader in the programme, CATIC received a 24% work share and STAero received a 15% work share; CATIC designed and produced the cabin structure and fuel system, ST Engineering Aerospace produced the tail boom, access doors, and composite materials, while Eurocopter produced the dynamic assemblies, installed the avionics, electrical and hydraulic systems, and conducted the final assembly activity.
From the programme's onset, the EC120 had been intended to be co-produced, with partners sought in China, Singapore, and Australia. By October 1998, more than 100 orders had been received for the type, leading to the production rate being increased from four helicopters per month to six. In 2002, Eurocopter was in the process of establishing a second assembly line for the EC120 at Australian Aerospace's facility in Brisbane, Australia. On 11 June 2004, a final production agreement was signed; under the agreement, CATIA and HAIG received exclusive market rights in China, and Eurocopter agreed to stop selling French-built EC120s in mainland China. In June 2014, the People's Liberation Army of China became the launch customer for the Harbin-produced HC120, reportedly placing an order for eight of the type with options for fifty more.