Inside RTX’s Singapore MRO hubs: why Asia-Pacific is leading the automation push

Within the next decade, Asia-Pacific is expected to become the world’s largest aviation market by fleet size. Engine maintenance providers will need to add capacity quickly to keep up, though, and in Singapore, Pratt & Whitney is leaning on automation and AI to get there.

Speaking to AeroTime in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of MRO Asia-Pacific 2026, Sandra Eich, Vice President of Aftermarket Operations (APAC and Turkey) for Pratt & Whitney Commercial Engines, suggested that the push toward digitization in aftermarket operations is especially strong in the region, which is now ahead of other markets.

“In the region, we have a lot of support, from the Economic Development Board here in Singapore and other industry partners that we work with, to really get AI technology and automation into our factories,” Eich said.

Sandra Eich, VP of Aftermarket Operations at APAC and Turkey for Pratt & Whitney Commercial Engines. Photo: AeroTimeShe also pointed to the company’s Singapore Technology Accelerator, an in-house team based in Singapore that works directly with shop floor teams to find where automation can add capacity.

Eich described the region’s lead as partly cultural and partly the result of the support available locally.

Training technicians for an AI-assisted shop floor

As automation advances, the skills needed from MRO technicians are changing. Eich called organizational development “the next step” for the business.

Pratt & Whitney is partnering with local technical schools to define what the future workforce should look like, as well as building continuous education programs for current employees.

“We want to make sure, especially when you introduce AI, that it is an operator-assisted tool and not replacing any of our operators,” she said.

Eich noted that the response from staff has been positive, with many eager to learn how to program robots and work with AI.

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Building capacity across APAC and Turkey as fleets expand

To keep pace with regional fleet growth, Pratt & Whitney is expanding its GTF engine network across Asia-Pacific. According to Eich, nine facilities are planned for the region, with seven already operating and two more due to come online this year.

GASCA site, SIngapore. Image: RTXThe company is also investing in repair industrialization, bringing more repairs into the region to shorten turnaround times for Asian operators. Eich shared that RTX signed a memorandum of understanding with Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB) this year, covering more than $139 million in investment in Singapore to expand capacity.

Eich’s remit spans two fast-growing but very different markets. She argued that RTX’s scale allows best practices to move across its network. Engine centers in Turkey, Shanghai and Christchurch all support the V2500 fleet and regularly share lessons.

On investment, she said that the company works with joint-venture partners to understand each region’s needs, balancing priorities between EMEA and Asia-Pacific.

Eagle Services Asia takes a step-by-step approach to automating GTF overhauls

AeroTime’s conversation with Eich came directly after a facility tour of Eagle Services Asia (ESA), Pratt & Whitney’s flagship engine MRO center in Singapore. 

Founded in 1978 as a joint venture with SIA Engineering Company, ESA services the PW1100G-JM geared turbofan (GTF) and the PW4000, with GTF work making up about 70% of its volume.

The shop showcased engine assembly automation, AI-driven borescope analysis and AI-enhanced X-ray inspection. ESA management claims that quality has improved markedly over the years. In the early days of high-pressure compressor stacking, failure rates ran around 30%, but the process is now consistent. With the facility nearing its 50th anniversary, four generations of employees are now working side by side.

Executives described ESA’s automation journey in phases. Individual automation modules come first, before connecting those systems to each other, and finally integrating them with an upskilled workforce. RTX is piloting ‘lights-out’ factory concepts at some shops, but executives stress that their priority is fewer unplanned shop visits, shorter turn times and more capacity.

Every automated process must go through full qualification and certification before it is rolled out across the network.

How GASCA handles four times the nacelle work with the same team and floor space

The tour also included GASCA, a Collins Aerospace joint venture with SIA Engineering Company. Founded in 1995, GASCA services nacelle components for most commercial aircraft in service, including the A350, A320neo, A220 and 787, and has served more than 100 airline customers in the region.

RTXRodney Hua, Asia MRO General Manager at Collins, said that GASCA’s volume has grown fourfold over the past decade, handled with essentially the same workforce and footprint. He credited continuous improvement and digital adoption. Technologies on display included autonomous inspection robots, automated parts delivery, digital damage mapping and laser-guided composite repair.

Hua expects the regional fleet to grow by about 30% over the next five years, with much of it reaching the age when nacelle maintenance becomes due. As that happens, he said, airlines will move away from fixing problems as they arise toward predicting them in advance, using the kind of data GASCA has been collecting for years.

It’s a theme that runs through both facilities and Eich’s insights, too.

As Asia-Pacific fleets grow faster than anywhere else, the region’s MRO race is unlikely to be won by expansion alone. What both Singapore sites show is that the real edge lies in how well shops combine efficient processes, AI-assisted technicians and the data needed in order to move from fixing faults to anticipating them.The post Inside RTX’s Singapore MRO hubs: why Asia-Pacific is leading the automation push appeared first on AeroTime.

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