Iranian helicopter manufacturer
Iran Helicopter Support and Renovation Company (IHSRC) (Persian: پشتیبانی و نوسازی هلیکوپترهای ایران, abbreviated as پنها, PANHA) is an Iranian helicopter manufacturing company.[1][2]
History
Following the purchase by Iran of some Italian helicopters from Agusta Company, it became important to establish a plant for support and repair these helicopters. This plant was named Iran Joint Helicopter Industry. Later on, after purchase of some number of helicopters from Bell, planning for expansion of this plant to support the new fleet started. Part of this expansion was to create three sections.
- 1. (NMP) Repair and Maintenance Centre
- 2. (HDMC) Main Fleet Repair Centre
- 3. (NICP) Logistics and Support Centre
After Iran’s revolution in 1979, US embargo on Iran, and the start of the Iran-Iraq war, PANHA started its operations with a goal of supporting and maintaining helicopters in the war. After a few years, they became self-sufficient in repair and maintenance of Iran's military helicopters. In 1986, their task of repair, maintenance, and support expanded to other organizations like communication, oil, Red Cross of Iran, and power plants.
As of 2006, this organization repaired and maintained ten kinds of military and non-military helicopters in sixteen different models. In 1994, PANHA Company completed the structure of their first helicopter called Shabaviz. After this, they received their first official permit to start manufacturing commercial helicopters. PANHA has been instrumental in reverse-engineering helicopters, their upgrades and servicing the fleet of Iranian helicopters.[3]
