AAR Awarded New Rotary Wing Services Task Order in Afghanistan

Airlift Group to provide operations based at Kandahar Airfield

WOOD DALE, Illinois – AAR (NYSE: AIR) announces US Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) has awarded its Airlift division a task order for additional rotary wing airlift services in Afghanistan, as part of an existing services contract to support US Central Command (CENTCOM).  The task order for nine months of service is valued at $21.7 million. 

Under the contract, AAR Airlift will provide utility helicopter services to include passenger and cargo transport and external cargo transport to US Department of Defense (DoD) forces. AAR Airlift will provide two helicopters, flight operations, maintenance and logistics support, and personnel. 

“We are very well positioned to respond rapidly to requirements across the globe with our fleet of fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft and our dedicated team of professionals," said Steven B. Harrison, President of AAR Airlift Group. "Leveraging our extensive flight operations experience in this austere and inaccessible region, AAR will field an additional operational hub in fewer than 10 days following contract award notification, including two aircraft, personnel, spares, tooling and consumables.” The Company has operated rotary wing aircraft in Afghanistan since 2009.   

TRANSCOM is the DoD’s single entity for transportation, sustainment and distribution to the nation’s warfighters. Its responsibilities include the procurement of commercial transportation services for U.S. military forces. CENTCOM is one of six of the DoD’s geographical combatant commands and works with national and international partners to respond to crises and support development in the Middle East and Central Asia.  

AAR Airlift Group provides expeditionary airlift services in support of contingency operations worldwide. The Company provides passenger and cargo transport, air ambulance, night vision operations, search and rescue (SAR), airdrop, and other special mission services. AAR Airlift Group includes Rotorcraft Services, a provider of engineering and design for rotorcraft modifications and completions, asset sales, component repair, life cycle support programs, and field maintenance. AAR Airlift’s fleet of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft serves defense and NGO customers in Afghanistan, Africa, the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and Western Pacific, and the Falkland Islands. Since 2005, AAR Airlift Group has flown more than 242,000 hours, delivering over 302 million pounds of mail and cargo, and transporting more than 1.9 million passengers in remote and austere locations around the globe.