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Britain's leading arms company has quietly terminated maintenance for a fleet of aircraft that were providing crucial emergency assistance to among the world's poorest countries.

Aid Emergency Deepens in Multiple East African Countries

The move diminishes the delivery of crucial aid to countries experiencing severe emergency situations, including South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

This arms firm this year announced record earnings of over £3bn, boosted by rising defense spending linked to global conflicts.

Industry analysts believe the decision to withdraw maintenance for the aid fleet was taken to enable the company to focus on projects connected with increased defense spending by international organizations.

Significant Humanitarian Contracts Terminated

Multiple important humanitarian contracts have been cancelled following the announcement, including one with the United Nations' WFP to deliver aid to 12 locations across East Africa where almost 5 million people face crisis levels of food insecurity.

The development comes after the firm's move to voluntarily surrender the airworthiness approval issued by the UK's Civil Aviation Authority for its last civilian aircraft model.

The company informed EU aircraft authorities that these models were no longer produced and that, to their knowledge, only few aircraft remained in service.

Consequences on Humanitarian Missions

Though multiple nations still have the planes registered, the final user was a East African air-cargo company that focused in transporting emergency supplies across east Africa.

"Our aid our planes provided offered a crucial support to the populations of Somalia and the DRC during a time of great global uncertainty," stated the operator's leader.

"The unexpected termination of maintenance for all planes has immobilized the planes and halted vital supplies to those most in need. Now, the people of the region face an growing perilous crisis while the company prioritizes their commercial profits."

Between March 2023 and last month, the fleet transported nearly 19,000 tonnes of aid to Somalia, Tanzania, Central African Republic and additional African nations.

Nutrition Security Estimates

Per aid agencies, one ton of food – usually including grains, legumes and oil – can meet the everyday requirements of about 1,660 individuals.

The particular aircraft type was considered ideal for aid operations because it could function on shorter airstrips that are common in isolated areas. Each plane could carry a payload of over 8 tons.

Legal Action Initiated

A legal document sent by lawyers representing the airline to the manufacturer claims that, since the decision, its twelve humanitarian planes "are unable to be used" and are now "worthless for their intended use".

This correspondence cites emails and discussions between the manufacturer's senior leadership and the airline that the Nairobi-based firm claims show it was led to believe that continued support would be provided for a minimum of five more years.

This communication states that the decision was taken "without any consultation with or official notification to" the airline.

The representative for the defense company said: "The company do not provide statements on potential litigation."

Permanent Decision

Meanwhile, documents from the company show that its move to withdraw the airworthiness certificate for the planes is "permanent and unchangeable".

One letter from the defense company's head of commercial airplane programs, dated May 2025, said the company planned to inform the UK aviation regulator it wanted to "begin the process to willingly relinquish the aircraft type certificate."

Humanitarian Emergency Statistics

• Across Somalia, 4.6 million individuals face emergency situations of food insecurity
• Approximately two million children under five are suffering from severe hunger
• Throughout South Sudan, over seven million individuals face serious food insecurity – over 50% the total population
• An unprecedented 27.7 million individuals in the Congo are experiencing severe hunger

This situation is most severe in east provinces where communities have lost access to their income sources after prolonged conflict in the region.

Since the company's announcement, the operator has closed activities in Kenya and is now claiming £187m in damages and restitution for what it describes "careless false information and misstatement" by the manufacturer.

Industry analysts predict the defense company's profits to increase more this year as it benefits from increased military expenditure worldwide amid increasing global instability.