Page 86 - ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΑΕΡΟΠΟΡΙΚΗ ΒΙΟΜΗΧΑΝΙΑ - 50 ΧΡΟΝΙΑ | HELLENIC AEROSPACE INDUSTRY - 50 YEARS

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Development during the 1980s
During 1980, the Hellenic Aerospace In- dustry brought all its facilities into full operational readiness. In terms of total investment, facility size, and production capacity, the company was among the ten largest enterprises in the country in
1982. In terms of personnel, during the 1980s, the average number of HAI employees was around 3,200. In 1981, the HAI acquired the capability to perform general repairs/maintenance on six types of aircrafts: A-7H Corsair, CL-215, C-130 Hercules, F-104 Starfighter, F-4 Phantom, and F-5 Freedom Fighter. In early 1982, the HAI management signed a contract with Dassault to acquire the capability to perform general repairs on Mirage F-1 aircraft, for an investment of 13 million francs.
the Hellenic Air Force was the HAI’s chief and only customer, as stipulated in the company’s articles of association. One matter that concerned the com- pany’s management was its cooperation with Ol- ympic Airways, as it had not received the expected workload from it. to compensate for the shortfalls in the maintenance programs of the Air Force and Ol-
ympic Airways, HAI’s management turned to agree- ments with foreign companies and organizations.
International repair programs
In the summer of 1980, the company signed its first international contract for the maintenance of a for- eign country’s air fleet. this was an agreement with the Egyptian Air Force for the general repair and inspection of five C-130s, as well as the provision of technical assistance and training to Egyptian per- sonnel. the contract with Egypt heralded the HAI’s entry into the Middle East and African markets. this was followed by agreements with Jordan to provide training to its personnel and general repair of the Atar 9K50 engines of the Mirage F-1, with a total value of $5.2 million. In 1986, the Iraqi Air Force signed a major maintenance agreement for the Atar 9K50 engines, based on the terms of the agree- ment with Jordan, worth $5 million. In addition to the above contracts, HAI entered into a series of smaller maintenance and training service agreements with Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon, Niger, and Senegal.