IMP Aerospace & Defence

In 1967, Kenneth Rowe founded Industrial Marine Products (IMP) Group. In 1970, he entered the aerospace business by acquiring Fairey Aviation of Canada, located at the Halifax International Airport. Fairey had been involved in military aviation products and support since 1948; first for the Royal Canadian Navy, and then for the Air Force.

Recently rebranded as IMP Aerospace & Defence, the aerospace division of IMP Group employs 1,800 personnel, including more than 160 engineers, and is Canada’s largest military maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility. The majority of staff works in Halifax, at one of the nine hangars located at Stanfield International Airport (CYHZ). Others are dispersed at various military bases where IMP has been contracted to support a particular aircraft.

The Halifax location boasts more than 500,000 square feet of maintenance, storage and specialty product space. The newest building is the 90,000-square-foot Hangar 9, which was purpose-built for the Lockheed Martin CP-140 Aurora and P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft re-winging program.

Three Divisions

IMP Aerospace & Defence has grown exponentially in Nova Scotia and the rest of the country. It consists of three major divisions:

1) Aerospace Division, Stanfield International Airport, Halifax, N.S.

Since its formation in 1970, IMP Aerospace has played a key role in military aircraft engineering and maintenance.

IMP provides depot level engineering and maintenance support to the RCAF for the Sikorsky CH-124 (H-3/S-61) Sea King, AgustaWestland CH-149 (EH101) Cormorant, Bell CH-146 Griffon, and the Canadair CT-114 Tutor,
plus material support, through Lockheed Martin, for the CC-130J Super Hercules. Depot level maintenance is similar to the heavy maintenance checks carried out on commercial aircraft, where the aircraft is partially disassembled, and all areas are inspected and repaired as necessary. At the same time, any product improvements to the airframe, engines and avionics are carried out.

IMP is also the prime contractor for the RCAF’s CP-140 Aurora fleet. The aerospace division is a Lockheed Martin-authorized P-3 Orion (CP-140 Aurora) service centre, a Transport Canada design approval organization and approved maintenance organization, and is ISO 9000-certified. The company has also been involved with two large-scale programs associated with the mid-life update of the Aurora aircraft. All avionics, navigation, communications and mission equipment is being upgraded under the Aurora Incremental Modernization Program (AIMP). The AIMP is complemented by the Aurora Service Life Extension Project (ASLEP), which sees the outer wing, inner wing/fuselage centre section, and the horizontal stabilizer removed and replaced with new parts from a Lockheed Martin-manufactured kit. The components in the kit combine original part designs with more modern materials, including metal alloys and fuel-tank sealing systems in the wings. The ASLEP will extend the life of the Aurora for another 15 to 20 years.

Since the Aurora is a variant of the Lockheed P-3 Orion, IMP has secured contracts with other P-3 government operators, and currently has a contract with the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNAF) to re-wing its six P-3C/N Orions. Prior to this, IMP had carried out depot level maintenance on four of the RNAF P-3s. To date, three of the RNAF Orions have been re-winged. IMP is pursuing additional contracts with other international operators of the popular, although aging, maritime patrol aircraft.

When Canada purchased its CH-149 Cormorant helicopters from AgustaWestland (EH-101), the aircraft were not expected to require a formal third level depot visit, due to the extensive use of composite materials in their construction. However, Canada’s CH-149s have been highly utilized over the past decade; in fact, the country owns the world’s highest-time (fleet leader) aircraft. The Canadian experience with the CH-149s has resulted in a change of opinion regarding the necessity for depot level inspections and preventative maintenance.

Hovering in a salt-water infused environment and loading wet rescue victims on board the Cormorant has resulted in many metallic surfaces being subjected to the corrosive effects of salt water. With the endorsement of DND, IMP began to develop a special aircraft structural inspection (ASI) program to determine the extent of structural issues resulting from surveyed cracks and corrosion. The ASI program initially utilized two aircraft, which will establish a revised inspection baseline for the fleet of Cormorants.

IMP provides 24/7 maintenance, engineering and logistical support for the CH-149 at the three main RCAF search and rescue bases in Gander, N.L.; Greenwood, N.S.; and Comox, B.C. The RCAF supplies flight crews; everything else is provided by IMP.

In addition to supporting the Cormorant, IMP Aerospace was recently awarded a $5.7-million contract to repair, overhaul and maintain the RCAF’s CT-114 Tutor aircraft fleet, flown by Canada’s national aerobatics team, the Snowbirds. Work began this past April at the firm’s 8 Wing Trenton, Ont., location.

The CH-124 Sea King maintenance program is holding steady, with limited financial investment, as Canada awaits the arrival of the CH-148 Cyclone replacement (scheduled for delivery in 2013).

2) IMP Electronic Systems Division, Hammonds Plains, N.S.

IMP’s electronics division has produced high-quality wire harness assemblies and related products for more than three decades. Military products account for 90 per cent of the division’s work, with the list of customers including military and commercial aircraft, land armoured vehicles, space satellites and the International Space Station. One hundred and thirty staff work in a state-of-the-art, 43,000-square-foot facility near Halifax, and design, fabricate and repair a wide variety of avionics equipment, including original equipment manufacturer (OEM) equipment. Commercial aircraft services include specific components for the S61, S76 and other Sikorsky helicopters. As the RCAF is concentrating on training its personnel on the new ship-borne CH-148 Cyclone helicopter, IMP has been contracted to provide all first and second line avionics maintenance support at 12 Wing Shearwater, home to the CH-124.

3) IMP Aerostructures, Amherst, N.S.

From small parts to large structural components, the aerostructures division has a wide customer base that is international in scope. With an extensive manufacturing capability, the division specializes in both aluminium and composite fabrication.

Approximately 360 staff members produce metal and carbon fibre composite parts. The majority of work is done for third-party aircraft customers, in addition to supporting requirements for the IMP Aerospace aircraft maintenance programs. These customers are the who’s who of aviation OEMs, including Boeing Military, Bell Helicopter Textron, Bombardier, Cessna and Lockheed Martin, plus other international manufacturers.

One of the aerostructures division’s specialties is the remanufacturing, repair and overhaul of flight controls and airframe components for the CP-140 Aurora. The process of remanufacturing and refurbishing used assemblies to “like new” condition provides significant savings for customers. Tool design and fabrication processes utilize the Dassault Systèmes CATIA-V5 3D CAD program, in conjunction with CNC machining processes, to design new or improved components.

Looking to the Future

Including the years that Fairey Aviation was in operation, IMP Aerospace & Defence has supported the Canadian government and the Department of National Defence for more than 60 years. For the first 50, this support was limited to depot level maintenance on two aircraft types.

In the past decade, there have been vast changes in the company as it has expanded its staff three-fold, and increased its capabilities and the number of aircraft types it supports.

IMP Aerospace & Defence is no longer a domestically-focused organization that mainly provides the Canadian DND with depot level maintenance on the Aurora and Sea King. It now boasts five different Canadian military aircraft support capabilities, and has grown from depot level to complete turn-key operations, including first, second and depot level maintenance; logistics support; continuous improvement programs; and extensive engineering support. IMP’s expertise is now found in the international marketplace, with customers in Europe, South America and the U.S. With more than 160 engineers, IMP has the capability to expand into other technology sectors as well.

The new name was adopted to better reflect the company’s changing capabilities. Looking to the future, IMP Aerospace & Defence is looking to grow its support on new Canadian defence programs currently in the works, including the refurbishment of the Leopard 2 heavy battle tank and new land system vehicles, as well as participating in the support of the Royal Canadian Navy’s new surface combatant ships (procured to replace the Navy’s current destroyers and frigates), and the new Arctic offshore patrol ships.

Gary Watson has decades of hands-on experience in both fixed- and rotary-wing aviation maintenance. He recently retired from SAIT Polytechnic in Calgary, Alta., where he had taught avionics and human factors for many years. He can be reached at gary@verticalmag.com.