Overhaul of Thai Army's UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to be first joint project Military aircraft MRO scope to expand over time Deal seen as springboard into Southeast Asian military MRO market Korean Air is partnering with Thai Aviation Industries (TAI), Thailand's state-owned aircraft maintenance specialist, as part of its strategy to enter the Southeast Asian aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) market. Korean Air announced Wednesday that it had signed a technical agreement (TA) with TAI at the Korean Air Tech Center in Gangseo-gu, Busan, to cooperate on comprehensive aviation MRO operations. The signing ceremony was attended by Cho Hyun-chul, head of Korean Air's military aircraft division, TAI President Piboon Worawanpricha, and other senior officials from both companies. The two sides agreed to begin by cooperating on depot-level maintenance of the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, the mainstay rotary-wing platform of the Royal Thai Army. They plan to expand the scope of cooperation to cover other military aircraft operated by the Thai armed forces. Korean Air will also provide TAI with maintenance process standardization support and technical training for military aircraft. TAI is a state-owned enterprise responsible for maintaining the aviation assets of the Thai military. The two companies expect that combining Korean Air's world-class military aircraft maintenance expertise with TAI's unrivaled maintenance network and infrastructure in Thailand will significantly improve the operational readiness of Thai military aviation. The partnership is also intended to serve as a launchpad for entry into the broader Southeast Asian aviation MRO market. Korean Air has accumulated unmatched experience over the past five decades, having performed depot-level maintenance and performance upgrades on more than 5,500 military aircraft. In the case of the UH-60 helicopter, the company began production at its aerospace division in 1991 and has been responsible for its upkeep ever since. Its technical expertise has since been recognized through a recent contract award for a performance upgrade program. "This cooperation will serve as an important opportunity to spread the excellence of Korea's MRO capabilities across Southeast Asia and to achieve shared growth with TAI in the regional aviation MRO market," a Korean Air official said. Korean Air has been rapidly expanding its footprint in the aerospace business. Sales from its aerospace division in the first half of this year reached 462.3 billion won ($337 million), up 55.4 percent from 297.4 billion won in the same period a year earlier. Operating profit over the same period surged more than sevenfold, from 4.98 billion won to 36.71 billion won.