The Arab British Helicopter Company (ABHCO), (Arabic:الشركة العربية البريطانية للمروحيات) is an Anglo-Italiano-Egyptian joint venture that specialises in helicopter manufacturing.

It was established during 1978 following an agreement with the British aerospace company Westland Helicopters as an affiliate of the Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI). It was intended for the venture to assemble the Westland Lynx helicopter, along with its Rolls-Royce Gem engines, at ABHCO's facility in Helwan, 18 miles south of Cairo, Egypt. Despite orders being placed for 250 ABHCO-built Lynx helicopters, none were ever completed due to an economic boycott being enacted on Egypt by the other Arab nations during the late 1970s. Following a licensing agreement, the firm also undertook the manufacture of the Westland Gazelle.

History

During the 1970s, Egypt commenced widescale efforts to replace arms imports with domestic production to provide military equipment to the rest of the Middle East as well as to build up Arab military industries. This international initiative was formalised in 1975; Egtpt was joined by various other Arab partner nations in the endeavour, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. On 29 April 1975, these four nations signed a treaty that established the Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI), a defense manufacturing interest that based much of its infrastructure, including its headquarters and much of its production facilities, within Egypt. During March 1978, the Arab British Helicopter Company (ABHCO) was formally established in a $595 million deal with Westland Helicopters. In addition to manufacturing the type, other activities, including the overhaul, testing and sale of Lynx helicopters was also envisioned. It was agreed that ABHCO would undertake the assembly of these rotorcraft via a recently acquired licensing agreement. Throughout the 1980s, the company undertook the assembly of a significant number of Gazelles; the associated British Arab Engine Company also produced the Turbomeca Astazou turboshaft powerplants for these Egyptian-build Gazelles.

The fortunes of ABHCO were heavily shaped by both Egyptian and international politics alike. Following the signing of the Camp David Accords between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on 17 September 1978, Egypt was subject to an economic boycott by many of its former Arab partners, who also moved to liquidate jointly held assets. This threw the existence of AOI, and therefore ABHCO, into a state of uncertainty for a time.

References

Citations

Bibliography

  • Feiler, Gil. Economic Relations Between Egypt and the Gulf Oil States, 1967–2000: Petro Wealth and Patterns of Influence. Sussex Academic Press, 2003. .
  • Ra'anan, Uri., Pfaltzgraff, Robert L. and Kemp, Geoffrey. Arms Transfers to the Third World: The Military Buildup in Less Industrial Countries. Westview Press, 1978. .
  • Factory official page