The Arab British Helicopter Company (ABHCO), (Arabic:الشركة العربية البريطانية للمروحيات) is an Anglo-Italiano-Egyptian joint venture that specialises in helicopter manufacturing.
It was established during 1978 following an agreement with the British aerospace company Westland Helicopters as an affiliate of the Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI). It was intended for the venture to assemble the Westland Lynx helicopter, along with its Rolls-Royce Gem engines, at ABHCO's facility in Helwan, 18 miles south of Cairo, Egypt.[1] Despite orders being placed for 250 ABHCO-built Lynx helicopters, none were ever completed due to an economic boycott being enacted on Egypt by the other Arab nations during the late 1970s. Following a licensing agreement, the firm also undertook the manufacture of the Westland Gazelle.
History
During the 1970s, Egypt commenced widescale efforts to replace arms imports with domestic production to provide military equipment to the rest of the Middle East as well as to build up Arab military industries. This international initiative was formalised in 1975; Egtpt was joined by various other Arab partner nations in the endeavour, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.[2]