SINGAPORE—Engine MRO specialist Singapore Aero Engine Services Private Limited (SAESL) has signed an agreement with Singapore government-backed Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Center (ARTC) to develop and deploy advanced technologies for aircraft engine maintenance, repair and overhaul.
The five-year program, running from 2026 to 2031, will focus on AI-enabled and autonomous inspection, assembly and disassembly technologies. The collaboration will also support local small and medium-sized enterprises in adopting and industrializing advanced manufacturing technologies, including developing in-house repair capabilities.
SAESL CEO Chris Pattinson told Aviation Week at MRO Asia-Pacific that the collaboration with ARTC is intended to accelerate the industrialization of technologies through successive deployments on the MRO shop floor.
“This is about targeted interventions, but deploying them in a sprint mentality. We’ll do a sprint for a number of months, deploy stuff on the shop [floor]. We’ll do another sprint for a number of months, and deploy it,” Pattinson said.
He said automation could deliver more repeatable quality, an important consideration in aviation maintenance and safety.
As the MRO industry faces constraints in material availability, developing additional repair capabilities could also help reduce customers’ engine turnaround times and costs, while increasing the value of services provided, Pattinson said.
The technology collaboration forms part of a broader SAESL expansion that includes increasing its workforce and developing its local talent pipeline.
SAESL is a Rolls-Royce and SIA Engineering Company joint venture. It has signed partnerships with three local higher-education institutions to support the training of about 200 new technicians annually. SAESL plans to hire more than 1,000 technicians over the next five years.
The company is also investing SG$242 million ($189 million) in a new 26,000-m2 (280,000-ft.2) facility that is scheduled for completion in 2027. The facility is expected to increase SAESL’s engine MRO capacity by about 40% to a total of 400 engines annually by 2029.
