Siemens, RUAG and others eye debut of electric Do228 in 2020

General Atomics Europe to buy Do228 assembly line

General Atomics Europe, a German subsidiary of California's General Atomics, has agreed to buy the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) unit for business aircraft and military helicopters, as well as the production of the Do228 in Oberpfaffenhofen from RUAG International, a subsidiary of Switzerland's RUAG Aerospace (Lucerne).

"We are aware of the challenges that a takeover of this magnitude means, especially in the aviation sector amid the current coronavirus crisis. However, General Atomics Europe is economically robust. Also, we have developed a future concept that creates a classic win-win situation for GA-Europe and the future new location in Oberpfaffenhofen. We are convinced of the great potential of this company and its employees and want to develop Oberpfaffenhofen into the European aviation core of the General Atomics Europe Group," said Harald Robl, General Atomics Europe's managing director.

The new investor will take over all 450 employees currently working for RUAG International at Oberpfaffenhofen. The value of the acquisition was not disclosed. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close by...

RUAG looks to sell Dornier 228 NG assembly plant

Oman's Salalah Air inks MOU with RUAG for six Do228NGs

Salalah Air (Salalah) has announced it has entered into a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) with Switzerland's RUAG Aerospace (Lucerne) for the supply of six Do228NextGen aircraft.

Signed late last month, the turboprops are due to begin delivery in the coming months, the Omani start-up's chief executive Mohammed al Arasha said.

“Initially we will start with a domestic charter operation and depending upon our licence upgradation, our regional and other broader operations will start. Our current focus, however, is to launch the operation first,” he told the Oman Observer.

Though still in the process of securing its AOC, Salalah Air has signed MOUs with Embraer (EMB, Sao Jose dos Campos) for the purchase of one EMB-505 Phenom 300 and one Legacy 500 (to be proffered to the Omani corporate jet charter market) and Viking Air (VKN, Victoria Int'l) for the supply of two DHC-6-400s.

RUAG delays delivery of Do228NG to Aurigny until 2Q18

Aurigny Air Services (GR, Guernsey) has confirmed the delivery of its second Do228NG, ordered in May of last year, has been delayed.

According to an airline statement to ITV news, the twinprop was due to have arrived from RUAG Aerospace (Lucerne) during the current quarter of the year. However, that date has now been pushed back to the second quarter of 2018 for reasons as yet unspecified. As a result, RUAG has agreed to provide Aurigny with a replacement Do228 - D-CAAL (msn 8155) leased from Arcus Air (AZE, Mannheim) - and crew until such time that the new aircraft arrives.

"We appreciate RUAG holding its hands up to the delay and acknowledging the challenges this has caused us," Aurigny CEO Mark Darby said in a statement. "As RUAG have said, they have provided us with a loan Dornier 228, free of charge, until the new aircraft arrives."

The Guernsey-based carrier is replacing its outgoing fleet of Britten-Norman Trislanders with three Dornier 228s - two NewGens...