Leonardo is strengthening the level of support and maintenance services offered to its customer base in South Africa with a new service centre following the recent acquisition of Precision Aviation Services. Precision is located at Wonderboom airport in Pretoria and comprises 2,275 sqm of floor space, 450 sqm of workshop and store, and an equivalent amount of office space.

The site had been operating as an ASC for Leonardo's helicopters in the country over the last 25 years and is the first Leonardo Excellent Service Centre on the continent. 'Excellent' ranking is assigned to selected service centres that are focused on maintaining third party fleets and have the largest scope of service capabilities, all while guaranteeing the continued achievement of Leonardo's customers' stringent expectations and considering specific market requirements. The first area of further enhancement implemented by Leonardo compared to previous services will be the spare parts availability.

The centre demonstrates Leonardo's long-term commitment to the region and its customers by improving support to a fleet of more than 120 helicopters mainly operating in the sub-Saharan African civil market. This is in line with the company's industrial plan's focus on stronger customer support services and proximity. It includes maintenance hangars, a bonded warehouse, workshops and other services and provides maintenance, product support and engineering services while reinforcing spares availability for a range of models including the AW119 single engine, AW109 light twin series and AW family including the AW139, AW169 and AW189, with the possibility to extend these capabilities to future products.

Enhanced services will contribute to maximise the helicopter fleet mission effectiveness and safety of operations to the benefit of operators, crews and the served communities. With over 100 helicopter service and maintenance centres worldwide to date, Leonardo plans to establish at least one Excellent centre in all strategic markets. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Leonardo has delivered continued support through its global network and leveraged digital technologies for remote maintenance services.