MENA Aerospace Enterprises and Airborne Technologies of Austria have launched a partnership in the Middle East to provide services including the monitoring of pipelines using a private charter fleet of half-a-dozen twin engine aircraft

"Regionally, the companies will initially focus on pipeline monitoring, leak detection, airborne surveying and digital mapping," says Ralph Eisenschmid, MENA Aerospace coo. "At a later stage, the scope of services will be expanded to include surveillance, patrolling, border control and law enforcement."

Marcus Gurtner, Airborne Technologies' chief sales officer, says that the company is looking at the requirements of several projects and is able to provide aircraft including the DA42 which can stay in the air for 13 hours and the Pilatus PC6. "The Vulcanair P68 and King Air C90 are other aircraft that can be adapted to provide such services," he says.

MENA Aerospace is the exclusive representative for Airborne Technologies in the Middle East. Airborne Technologies provides proprietary image and data analysis services using fixed wing aircraft. MENA Aerospace's airline subsidiary MAE Aircraft Management WLL will operate the aircraft from its base in Bahrain.

Eisenschmid explains: "By their very nature, pipelines, power lines, railroads and highways are extremely difficult to monitor and access, due to the large geographic area they occupy. Therefore, monitoring and inspecting from the air is the most efficient, economical, safe and accurate method. The company uses specialised fixed wing aircraft instead of helicopters due to their longer endurance and safer, more silent operation."

He adds: "A client's imaging and analysis requirements can be delivered on a packaged services basis, thereby eliminating the client's need for large investments in equipment, training and infrastructure. Real-time airborne data can be delivered in a multitude of formats and of course, all data and imaging results are securely stored employing the strictest of protocols."

Gurtner says: "The fixed wing air-craft platform is the lowest cost, most fuel efficient and effective platform." Airborne Technologies is an Austrian private limited company based at Vienna airport. It operates its own fleet of multi-purpose aircraft for remote sensing missions throughout Europe.