Defence Aviation Repair Agency
Encyclopedia
The Defence Aviation Repair Agency, better known as DARA, was an executive agency of the United Kingdom
Ministry of Defence
, responsible for the maintenance and repair of Royal Air Force
, Army and the Royal Navy
's aircraft. It became part of the Defence Support Group
from 1 April 2008.
DARA, which had four sites across the UK, was the biggest government-owned aerospace repair facility in Europe. Since a distinct U-turn in MOD policy from centralised repair expertise to diversified line repair, DARA's operations were either scheduled to be closed or under review, with an intended strategy to privatise the various remaining divisions.
, DARA brought together the RAF Maintenance Group Defence Agency (MGDA) and the Naval Aircraft Repair Organisation (NARO). DARA offered the capability to completely strip, replace, repair and rebuild aircraft from systems, components and equipment to whole aircraft, for both military and commercial organisations.
DARA was established as a Trading Fund on 1 April 2001.
DARA was formed around a strategy of integrating RAF, Navy, MOD and private expertise to increase efficiencies of aircraft maintenance and repair to the RAF and Navy, and hence reducing costs. The plan was built around a key base to form a centre of excellence, chosen as the existing RAF Maintenance base at St Athan, to create "factory" levels of expertise. RAF St Athan at DARA's peak employed 2,500 people, over two thirds of DARA's 3,500 employees.
In December 2000, then Welsh Secretary Paul Murphy and Armed Forces Minister
John Spellar
met to discuss the future of RAF St Athan, following concerns expressed by John Smith
, MP for the Vale of Glamorgan
. They announced the base's future was "secure".
, who would work in partnership to develop the base.
In March 2003 DARA and Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram
confirmed that DARA and the MOD would go ahead with the hi-tech maintenance centre - securing 3,300 Welsh jobs. Additional jobs would be created by allowing access to the super-hangar by commercial aviation partners, which National Assembly for Wales
First Minister
Rhodri Morgan
said could potentially create a further 4,000 jobs. Welsh Secretary Peter Hain
said it was "superb news".
Project Red Dragon would replace RAF St Athan's existing repair centre - spread out across a 1000 acres (4 km²) site - and create a new, state-of-the-art facility. Red Dragon had two unique features which set it apart from other military aviation maintenance contracts:
Deputy General Secretary Jack Dromey
said the government was considering abandoning Project Red Dragon. Dromey said it would be "outrageous" for the MOD to back away from the scheme now it had been given the government's blessing: "That would be absolutely wrong - not in the best interests of the Royal Air Force, not in the best interests of a loyal workforce."
In March 2004, DARA lost out on a £150 million contract to upgrade the GR7 Harrier to GR9
specification, to upgrade the plane and allow additional life cycle until replacement by the F-35 "Lightning" Joint Strike Fighter
. The MOD concluded that the bid by the RAF based out of RAF Cottesmore
made more sense from both an operational and cost view point.
In March 2004 DARA announced the loss of 550 jobs at RAF St Athan. 360 posts went as part of streamlining to make DARA more efficient and better able to compete with the private sector for lucrative aircraft repair contracts. The second and more controversial reason is that DARA lost out to the RAF for a contract, worth £150m, to upgrade the airforce's fleet of ageing Harrier jump jets.
On 14 April 2005 the new Project Red Dragon super-hangar opened. Jim Cooper, General Secretary of Prospect
, the union representing specialist civilian staff in the MOD, called for plans to privatise DARA to be scrapped. Cooper said Dara was in a perilous position, as it was in danger of losing the facilities which were designed to make it a world-class aviation centre. A spokesman for the MOD said that work on the Tornado F3
would remain at St Athan for the jet's life-span, but that the situation after that was not yet known: "Unless additional work can be found, it is unlikely we can maintain a viable business at St Athan beyond 2008/9."
On 10 October 2006 the RAF showcased the first production GR9 Harrier at RAF Cottesmore
. Defence Procurement Minister
Adam Ingram
said the jet will eventually be phased out by 2015 when the new F-35 "Lightning" Joint Strike Fighter
arrives in the next decade.
The Fast Jet and Engines businesses closed in March 2007.
On 22 May 2007 it was announced by the Minister of State for Defence Equipment and Support
, Lord Drayson, that DARA would be merged with ABRO, the Army Base Repair Organisation
. It was also stated that the VC10 maintenance unit at RAF St. Athan would not now be privatised. The new Defence Support Group
was established from 1 April 2008.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
, responsible for the maintenance and repair of Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, Army and the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
's aircraft. It became part of the Defence Support Group
Defence Support Group
The Defence Support Group is an executive agency and wholly owned trading fund of the Ministry of Defence. It was established on 1 April 2008 by the merger of Defence Aviation Repair Agency and the Army Base Repair Organisation. It was created under The Defence Support Group Trading Fund Order...
from 1 April 2008.
DARA, which had four sites across the UK, was the biggest government-owned aerospace repair facility in Europe. Since a distinct U-turn in MOD policy from centralised repair expertise to diversified line repair, DARA's operations were either scheduled to be closed or under review, with an intended strategy to privatise the various remaining divisions.
Background
Launched on 1 April 1999, post the Government's Strategic Defence ReviewStrategic Defence Review
The Strategic Defence Review was a British policy document produced by the Labour Government that came to power in 1997. Then Secretary of State for Defence, George Robertson, set out the initial defence policy of the new government, with a series of key decisions designed to enhance the United...
, DARA brought together the RAF Maintenance Group Defence Agency (MGDA) and the Naval Aircraft Repair Organisation (NARO). DARA offered the capability to completely strip, replace, repair and rebuild aircraft from systems, components and equipment to whole aircraft, for both military and commercial organisations.
DARA was established as a Trading Fund on 1 April 2001.
Operations
DARA had centres of excellence across Fixed Wing, Rotary and Engines, Electronics and Components. Its Chief Executive was Archie Hughes:Locations
- DARA Head Office - RAF St Athan, near CardiffCardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
- DARA Engines - GosportGosportGosport is a town, district and borough situated on the south coast of England, within the county of Hampshire. It has approximately 80,000 permanent residents with a further 5,000-10,000 during the summer months...
, HampshireHampshireHampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
- business closed March 2007 - DARA Fast Jets - RAF St Athan - business closed March 2007
- DARA Large Aircraft - at RAF St Athan is the UK centre for deep maintenance of the Vickers VC10Vickers VC10The Vickers VC10 is a long-range British airliner designed and built by Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd, and first flown in 1962. The airliner was designed to operate on long-distance routes with a high subsonic speed and also be capable of hot and high operations from African airports...
transport and refuelling aircraft, working as the MRO subcontractor to BAE SystemsBAE SystemsBAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...
. - DARA Rotary - GosportGosportGosport is a town, district and borough situated on the south coast of England, within the county of Hampshire. It has approximately 80,000 permanent residents with a further 5,000-10,000 during the summer months...
, HampshireHampshireHampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
: the UK's centre of depth maintenance for ChinookCH-47 ChinookThe Boeing CH-47 Chinook is an American twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter. Its top speed of 170 knots is faster than contemporary utility and attack helicopters of the 1960s...
, LynxWestland LynxThe Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to the development of both battlefield and naval variants...
and Sea KingWestland Sea KingThe Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engines , British made anti-submarine warfare systems and a...
helicopterHelicopterA helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
s, working in partnership with UK MOD Integrated Project Teams, AgustaWestlandAgustaWestlandAgustaWestland is an Anglo-Italian helicopter design and manufacturing company. It was formed in July 2000 when Finmeccanica S.p.A. and GKN plc agreed to merge their respective helicopter subsidiaries to form AgustaWestland with Finmeccanica and GKN each holding a 50% share.AgustaWestland is now a...
and BoeingBoeingThe Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
. DARA Rotary has been sold to Vector Areospace, along with DARA Components at Almondbank (see below). - DARA Electronics - RAF SealandRAF SealandRAF Sealand was a former Royal Air Force station in Flintshire, north Wales and operated between 1916 and 2006.Under defence cuts announced in 2004 RAF Sealand was completely closed in April 2006. All remaining RAF units were moved to RAF Leeming...
in DeesideDeesideFor Strathdee in Scotland see River Dee, AberdeenshireDeeside is the name given to the predominantly industrial conurbation of towns and villages that lie on, or near the River Dee in Chester. These include, Connah's Quay, Mancot, Pentre, Shotton, Queensferry, Sealand, Broughton, Hawarden,...
, FlintshireFlintshireFlintshire is a county in north-east Wales. It borders Denbighshire, Wrexham and the English county of Cheshire. It is named after the historic county of Flintshire, which had notably different borders... - DARA Components - AlmondbankAlmondbankAlmondbank is a large village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland.- DARA/Vector Almondbank :The Defence Aviation Repair Agency site at Almondbank was a major employer in the community for many years providing essential support to the British Armed Forces...
: provides the capability for repair, modification and testing of an extensive range of hydraulic and transmission components found in both air and land systems for the UK MOD and civilian applications. This business also branched into the commercial sector (See Almondbank page).
History
From the outset, DARA seemed beset by a series of ongoing battles between Ministers, the MOD, the RAF and regional interests, especially the Welsh around RAF St Athan.DARA was formed around a strategy of integrating RAF, Navy, MOD and private expertise to increase efficiencies of aircraft maintenance and repair to the RAF and Navy, and hence reducing costs. The plan was built around a key base to form a centre of excellence, chosen as the existing RAF Maintenance base at St Athan, to create "factory" levels of expertise. RAF St Athan at DARA's peak employed 2,500 people, over two thirds of DARA's 3,500 employees.
In December 2000, then Welsh Secretary Paul Murphy and Armed Forces Minister
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
John Spellar
John Spellar
John Francis Spellar is a British Labour Party politician, and the Member of Parliament for Warley. He served as a Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office, before returning to the backbenches in 2005...
met to discuss the future of RAF St Athan, following concerns expressed by John Smith
John Smith (Welsh politician)
John William Patrick Smith is a Welsh Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for the Vale of Glamorgan from 1997 to 2010.-Early life:...
, MP for the Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan
The Vale of Glamorgan is a county borough in Wales; an exceptionally rich agricultural area, it lies in the southern part of Glamorgan, South Wales...
. They announced the base's future was "secure".
Project Red Dragon
In March 2002, John Smith again asked for further assurances on progress around Project Red Dragon, a proposed plan to co-develop RAF St Athan as an aerospace centre of excellence as a public/private partnership. The government partners included the MOD, DARA and the Welsh Development AgencyWelsh Development Agency
The Welsh Development Agency was a QUANGO and later an Assembly Sponsored Public Body established in 1976 to encourage business development and investment in Wales, to clear derelict land and to encourage growth of local businesses...
, who would work in partnership to develop the base.
In March 2003 DARA and Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram
Adam Ingram (Labour politician)
Adam Paterson Ingram is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow from 1987 to 2010.-Early life:...
confirmed that DARA and the MOD would go ahead with the hi-tech maintenance centre - securing 3,300 Welsh jobs. Additional jobs would be created by allowing access to the super-hangar by commercial aviation partners, which National Assembly for Wales
National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
First Minister
First Minister for Wales
The First Minister of Wales is the leader of the Welsh Government, Wales' devolved administration, which was established in 1999. The First Minister is responsible for the exercise of functions by the Cabinet of the Welsh Government; policy development and coordination; relationships with the...
Rhodri Morgan
Rhodri Morgan
Hywel Rhodri Morgan is a Welsh Labour politician who, as First Secretary for Wales, and subsequently First Minister, was leader of the Welsh Assembly Government from 2000 to 2009. A former leader of Welsh Labour, he was the Assembly Member for Cardiff West from 1999 to 2011...
said could potentially create a further 4,000 jobs. Welsh Secretary Peter Hain
Peter Hain
Peter Gerald Hain is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for the Welsh constituency of Neath since 1991, and has served in the Cabinets of both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, firstly as Leader of the House of Commons under Blair and both Secretary of State for...
said it was "superb news".
Project Red Dragon would replace RAF St Athan's existing repair centre - spread out across a 1000 acres (4 km²) site - and create a new, state-of-the-art facility. Red Dragon had two unique features which set it apart from other military aviation maintenance contracts:
- Construction of a "super-hangar", which will include 47 bays to work on fighter aircraft. The bays could be reconfigured to allow engineering teams to also work on heavy-lift, fixed-wing aircraft as well as heavy-lift helicopters such as the Chinook.
- The only Western military facility which would be able to develop its aviation maintenance arm using finance raised from the private sector
Contract loss and review
In October 2003, the Transport and General Workers' UnionTransport and General Workers' Union
The Transport and General Workers' Union, also known as the TGWU and the T&G, was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland - where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union - with 900,000 members...
Deputy General Secretary Jack Dromey
Jack Dromey
Jack Dromey MP is a British Labour Party politician and trade unionist, who has been the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Erdington since 2010...
said the government was considering abandoning Project Red Dragon. Dromey said it would be "outrageous" for the MOD to back away from the scheme now it had been given the government's blessing: "That would be absolutely wrong - not in the best interests of the Royal Air Force, not in the best interests of a loyal workforce."
In March 2004, DARA lost out on a £150 million contract to upgrade the GR7 Harrier to GR9
RAF Harrier II
The British Aerospace/McDonnell Douglas Harrier II is a second-generation vertical/short takeoff and landing jet aircraft used previously by the Royal Air Force and, between 2006–2010, the Royal Navy. Derived from the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II, which was a development of the Hawker...
specification, to upgrade the plane and allow additional life cycle until replacement by the F-35 "Lightning" Joint Strike Fighter
F-35 Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, fifth generation multirole fighters under development to perform ground attack, reconnaissance, and air defense missions with stealth capability...
. The MOD concluded that the bid by the RAF based out of RAF Cottesmore
RAF Cottesmore
RAF Cottesmore was a Royal Air Force station in Rutland, England, situated between Cottesmore and Market Overton. The station housed all the operational Harrier GR9 squadrons in the Royal Air Force, and No 122 Expeditionary Air Wing...
made more sense from both an operational and cost view point.
In March 2004 DARA announced the loss of 550 jobs at RAF St Athan. 360 posts went as part of streamlining to make DARA more efficient and better able to compete with the private sector for lucrative aircraft repair contracts. The second and more controversial reason is that DARA lost out to the RAF for a contract, worth £150m, to upgrade the airforce's fleet of ageing Harrier jump jets.
Privatisation
In December 2004, the MOD decided that DARA's Fast Jets and Engines businesses would be closed by April 2007, whilst the Rotary, Components and Large Aircraft businesses were offered for potential sale to see whether this would result in better value for money for UK defence and improved prospects for employees. Effectively, this was the announcement of a U-turn in strategy by the MOD to centralise aircraft maintenance, and the break-up of DARA by privatisation of its various divisions.On 14 April 2005 the new Project Red Dragon super-hangar opened. Jim Cooper, General Secretary of Prospect
Prospect (trade union)
Prospect is a United Kingdom trade union which represents engineers, managers, scientists and other specialists in both the public and private sectors. It was formed on 1 November 2001 by the merger of the trade unions the Institution of Professionals Managers and Specialists and the Engineers and...
, the union representing specialist civilian staff in the MOD, called for plans to privatise DARA to be scrapped. Cooper said Dara was in a perilous position, as it was in danger of losing the facilities which were designed to make it a world-class aviation centre. A spokesman for the MOD said that work on the Tornado F3
Panavia Tornado
The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing combat aircraft, which was jointly developed and manufactured by the United Kingdom, West Germany and Italy...
would remain at St Athan for the jet's life-span, but that the situation after that was not yet known: "Unless additional work can be found, it is unlikely we can maintain a viable business at St Athan beyond 2008/9."
On 10 October 2006 the RAF showcased the first production GR9 Harrier at RAF Cottesmore
RAF Cottesmore
RAF Cottesmore was a Royal Air Force station in Rutland, England, situated between Cottesmore and Market Overton. The station housed all the operational Harrier GR9 squadrons in the Royal Air Force, and No 122 Expeditionary Air Wing...
. Defence Procurement Minister
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
Adam Ingram
Adam Ingram (Labour politician)
Adam Paterson Ingram is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow from 1987 to 2010.-Early life:...
said the jet will eventually be phased out by 2015 when the new F-35 "Lightning" Joint Strike Fighter
F-35 Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, fifth generation multirole fighters under development to perform ground attack, reconnaissance, and air defense missions with stealth capability...
arrives in the next decade.
The Fast Jet and Engines businesses closed in March 2007.
On 22 May 2007 it was announced by the Minister of State for Defence Equipment and Support
Minister of State for Defence Equipment and Support
The Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology is a junior Defence minister in the Ministry of Defence of Her Majesty's Government....
, Lord Drayson, that DARA would be merged with ABRO, the Army Base Repair Organisation
Army Base Repair Organisation
The Army Base Repair Organisation was an executive agency which reported to the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence. It provided engineering, repair and re-manufacturing services to the British Armed Forces and also to the police and some local councils...
. It was also stated that the VC10 maintenance unit at RAF St. Athan would not now be privatised. The new Defence Support Group
Defence Support Group
The Defence Support Group is an executive agency and wholly owned trading fund of the Ministry of Defence. It was established on 1 April 2008 by the merger of Defence Aviation Repair Agency and the Army Base Repair Organisation. It was created under The Defence Support Group Trading Fund Order...
was established from 1 April 2008.