1999 to 2008


united kingdom Defence Aviation Repair Agency

Ministry of Defence (MoD)

DARA




Formed by consolidating the Naval Aircraft Repair Organisation (NARO) and the RAFs Maintenance Group Defence Agency (MGDA) in April 1999 to realise logistic savings in a single organisation. Efforts to encourage a more commercial approach resulted in DARA becoming a profit centre (Trading Fund), wholly owned by the MoD in 2001.
As budgets tightened throughout Government, a drains-up review of Defence Logistics - in parallel with intense political lobbying - resulted in the Fast Jet work being consolidated on main operational bases (eg Tornado work went to RAF Marham) - arguably, on a questionable Government business case - even though major investments had been made at the existing DARA facilities (the Super Hangar) at St Athan. This was a significant blow to DARA which following its own strategic business review, DARA concluded it would sell its remaining rotary wing repair operation at Fleetlands and its Almondbank spares facility to Vector Aerospace from Apr 2008.
The RAF and Royal Navy Merlin depth maintenance programmes were merged and located at RNAS Culdrose. But the writing was on the wall for the slimmed down DARA, now lacking critical mass. DARA disappeared when it was merged with the ex-Army ABRO (itself formed in 1993 by a series of reorganisations and mergers) and emerged as the Defence Support Group (DSG) on 1 Apr 2008.



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  Locations


YearsLocationICAO/FAA
1999/08FleetlandsEGVF
1999/08MoD St AthanEGDX
1999/08Almondbank


helicopter   Models


Years Models
Aerospatiale AS355F Ecureuil 2
Aerospatiale Gazelle
Aerospatiale SA330E Puma
Aerospatiale SA341C Gazelle HT.2
Aerospatiale SA341D Gazelle HT.3
Aerospatiale SE3130 Alouette II
Agusta A109
AgustaWestland AW109E Power
AgustaWestland AW139
AgustaWestland EH101
AgustaWestland Merlin HC.3
AgustaWestland Merlin HM.1
Airbus H125
Airbus H135 / EC135T3
Airbus H145 / EC145T2
Bell AH-1G Cobra
Bell OH-58A Kiowa
Bristol Sycamore 3
Bristol Sycamore 4
Bristol Type 173
Eurocopter AS350BB Ecureuil
Eurocopter AS365N3 Dauphin 2
Saunders Roe Skeeter 3
Saunders Roe Skeeter 4
Saunders Roe Skeeter 5
Saunders Roe Skeeter 6
Sikorsky S-51 / R-5 / H-5
Sikorsky S-55
Sikorsky S-61D-1
Sikorsky S-61L
Westland Dragonfly HR.1
Westland Dragonfly HR.3
Westland Lynx
Westland Lynx HAS2
Westland Lynx mk87
Westland Lynx AH1
Westland Lynx AH7
Westland Lynx HAS3
Westland Lynx mk28
Westland Scout AH.1
Westland Sea King HAS.1
Westland Sea King HC.4
Westland Sioux
Westland Wasp
Westland Wessex HAS.1
Westland Wessex HAS.3
Westland Wessex HC.2
Westland Wessex HU.5
Westland Whirlwind HAR.1
Westland Whirlwind HAR.10
Westland Whirlwind HAR.3
Westland Whirlwind HAR.4
Westland Whirlwind HAR.5
Westland Whirlwind HAS.7









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