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year in the US to acquire the necessaryskills and competence, our MBGground crew will undertake maintenancetasks for the aircraft at RSAF’sChangi Air Base.Our capabilities are not limitedto fixed-wing aircraft support.Wecontinued to expand the scope of ourhelicopter services by sealing anagreement with Sikorsky making us aservice centre for S-76 helicopters.The capability set-up and trainingof staff are expected to be completedby the second quarter of 2001.A NEW LEASE OF LIFEAnother highlight of the year waswhen “Falcon ONE,” designed anddeveloped by us, made its debut inFebruary at Asian Aerospace 2000.A state-of-the-art F-16 fighter aircraftavionics upgrade suite, “FalconONE” provides an integrated weapondelivery and navigation system forearlier F-16 models.Later, in July, we went on to signa Memorandum of Agreement withBAE Systems to jointly enhance“Falcon ONE” further.We areworking on the development of theupgrade suite through a collaborationwhich demonstrates the strategicpartnership between ST Aero, BAESystems and Lockheed Martin.Our team of engineers andtechnicians continued to work witha Turkish Air Force team in Eskisehir,Turkey, on the F-5 upgrade prototype.Thefirst flight is expected totake place in early 2001.Designed and developed by ST Aero,“Falcon ONE” is a state-of-the-art F-16avionics upgrade suite.We continued to leverage on ourcompetence in providing innovative,cost effective and technologicallyadvanced fighter aircraft avionics andstructural upgrade solutions throughthe provision of avionics upgradeservices on C-130 transport aircraftand helicopters.This complementsour existing one-stop centre supportconcept to provide cost-effective andvalue-added total solutions.SUCCESSFULCOMMERCIALISATION:BOEING 737The year also saw further achievementsby MBG in providing B737maintenance support.We successfullycompleted maintenance programmesfor three Asian domestic airlines: AirPhilippines and Indonesian operators;Airfast Indonesia and MandalaAirlines PT.Commercialisation and theexpansion of our B737 capabilitiescontinued on all fronts to includeairframe, engine and componentmaintenance, as well as engineeringand development.This has enabled usto provide global B737 service supportthrough our network of specialistsubsidiarieslocated in Asia and the US.OUTLOOKThe aviation industry has seen anunparalleled period of growth inthe recent past and the long termprospects look positive as air trafficvolume increases.Short term uncertainties over theUS and the major economies exist;we expect to maintain a balancedmix of maintenance, repair and overhaulwork in both commercial andWe will continue toinvest in our mostvalued asset: ourpeople – a uniqueguarantee of qualitythat brings ourcustomers to us timeand again.military sectors to cushion short termmarket variations in either sectors.Building upon our track record,we foresee the Aerospace sector takingon more challenges in value-addedhigh-technological, engineering anddevelopment support services, particularlyin aircraft modifications andconversion work.We will continue to invest andincrease our involvement in highervalue-added work via collaborativeefforts with Original EquipmentManufacturers for engineering anddesign development work, as well asprovision of technical, engineeringand planning support to our customers.We aim to provide a slew ofvalue-added services to our keycustomers, in line with our goalof becoming a complete technicalpartner to aircraft operatorsworldwide.Given an increasingly competitiveenvironment, we expect to face continuedchallenges from competitors.Through continued focus oncustomer value and by leveragingon long term strategic partnershipswith our customers, many of whomare leading players in the aerospaceand air transportation industries,we will be well poised to take onthese challenges.We will also further developcustomer-focused strategies to honeour competitiveness, while continuingto build upon our ties with keycustomers to enhance our mutuallybeneficial interdependencies overtime, and develop value-creating,strategic business relationships.As we continue to stay lean, wewill also ensure improvements inquality, reliability and safety in allour processes to bring total value toour customers and shareholders.While our deployment ofe-business tools and service offeringsare means to provide our customerswith better services, quality andturnaround time, we will relentlesslypursue our quest to streamlineour processes, and to harness andinvest in new technologies toimprove productivity and reducecosts.Although the aviationindustry has projected significantshortfalls in the availabilityof qualified mechanics andtechnicians over the comingyears, we are confident thatwith a total resource planningand skills training programme,we can attract, train and retainthe necessary skill-mix andcompetencies to keep aheadof the competition.We will continue toinvest in our most valuedasset: our people – a uniqueguarantee of quality thatbrings our customers to ustime and again.We will continue to develop customer-focusedsolutions such asthe Aerobook, which enhancesproductivity and efficiency.76 • visionre:view • 77