German Lufthansa looks at the defense sector – DW – 16/06/2024

What seemed almost unthinkable many years ago is now reflected in the labor market for the maintenance of military aircraft.

The demand for military aircraft maintenance experts is so great that companies such as Lufthansa Technik (LHT) are making every effort to train and retrain workers from outside the industry. These new experts often come from suppliers whose jobs have been made obsolete by the transition to electric vehicles.

“For example, Lufthansa Technik is recruiting mechatronics engineers from the automotive sector to look for specialists,” aviation expert Heinrich Grossbongardt told DW. “They have a good education and are retraining as aircraft mechanics.”

As a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, investments worth billions in new planes are creating new business areas or giving new impetus to existing companies. This applies to Lufthansa Technik, which recently established the LHT Defense division.

LHT is the maintenance and repair subsidiary of German flag carrier Lufthansa. According to its own information, it serves over 800 clients around the world and employs over 20,000 employees.

A turning point for Lufthansa

“If I look back 10 years, it would be almost unimaginable at Lufthansa Technik, let alone the Lufthansa Group, if you take into account factors such as the environmental, social and governance ranking and the sustainability rating of large companies,” Grossbongardta said . “Actually, the defense has always been a no-no.”

For decades after the end of World War II and the fall of the Nazi regime, much of German society frowned upon anything related to the military. Although German weapons technology was sought after abroad, it was a controversial issue in German politics and society.

This changed with the outbreak of Russia’s war in Ukraine and the German government’s announcement that it would invest EUR 100 billion in strengthening the German army.

“Of course, we are also witnessing a reassessment here,” Grossbongardt said. “And therefore it is no longer a negative issue for Lufthansa from the Group’s point of view.”

The first phase covers the maintenance of five Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, which the German Navy ordered at the end of June 2021. Along with the United States, Australia, India, the United Kingdom, Norway, South Korea and New Zealand, Germany is the eighth customer to this winter he put the Boeing Poseidon into service.

Civilian know-how for military pilots

“These planes are essentially civilian Boeing 737s, which are completely normal commercial planes with military systems installed,” Grossbongardt said. He emphasized that Lufthansa has extensive experience in the maintenance of these Boeing 737s.

“The question was asked very early on: ‘Who can do this in Germany?’ There is also no way around Lufthansa Technik, especially since it is already involved in maintaining and equipping German government aircraft.”

He said it made sense for the Bundeswehr and Germany to engage in maintenance, adding that it would be much more expensive if the Bundeswehr built these capabilities from scratch and procured the necessary spare parts.

“Lufthansa can just use what it already has, and it makes sense for the airline as well because it ultimately creates jobs in Hamburg,” Grossbongardt said.

Internationally, he said, Lufthansa Technik enjoys an excellent reputation.

“As Americans like to say, LHT is the 800-pound gorilla in the commercial aircraft maintenance market,” he said. “This means that Lufthansa Technik is one of the world’s absolute leaders in technical support for commercial aircraft, engines and all components. No one can deal with them that easily.”

Helicopters also on the radar

In mid-May, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius visited the American arms company Boeing in Philadelphia, which, in addition to the order for the Poseidon naval aircraft, also received an order for 60 CH-47F Chinook heavy transport helicopters from Germany. Lufthansa also wants to engage in activities related to maintenance and the supply of spare parts.

In addition, LHT wants to participate in the maintenance of 35 F-35 stealth bombers ordered by the German Air Force from the American manufacturer Lockheed.

And when NATO replaces its AWACS radar aircraft with the new E-7 type in the next few years, LHT CEO Sören Stark believes there is a good chance that the company will not only engage in E-7 maintenance activities .

“Understanding and supporting new aircraft and their technologies as quickly as possible has been part of our DNA for decades,” Stark told the business daily Handelsblatt. “We could also carry out the conversion of civilian Boeing 737s to NATO E-7 aircraft in Hamburg, in close cooperation with Boeing.”

Jobs for specialists in Germany

This new chapter at LHT provides a number of new opportunities and opportunities. This time, new jobs will not be created in Lufthansa Technik locations in Malta, Sofia or Manila, but in Germany.

From Grossbongardt’s perspective, bidding for the maintenance of NATO’s new radar plane is also a smart move. Here, too, the LHT can make good use of its experience with Boeing’s regular civil jet.

“The successor model, the E-7 Wedgetail, is based on the civilian Boeing 737. And once I get there, there will be further opportunities in other NATO-related areas,” said the aviation expert.

LHT’s Stark has ambitious plans. Turnover is expected to grow from 6.5 billion euros ($7 billion) to more than 10 billion euros by 2030, and he wants to increase profits from just under 630 million euros to more than 1 billion euros. While these goals are ambitious, they are not unrealistic.

“I see very big opportunities for Lufthansa Technik as the prime contractor for U.S. programs,” said aviation consultant Michael Santo of the consulting firm H&Z in Handelsblatt.

Grossbongardt believes it is unlikely that LHT will extend beyond maintenance work on military aircraft technology and engines in the future. “Lufthansa Technik will never deal with weapons technology, it has no expertise in this field,” he said.

Instead, he expects LHT to attract partners to cooperate in this area.

“Lufthansa Technik would then be the main contractor and would take care of the engine and the aircraft. And everything related to weapons electronics, weapons and radar systems would be handled by the partner,” he said.

This article was originally written in German.