BANGOR – The U.S. Army has awarded Telford Aviation Inc. a $75 million contract to continue maintaining military aircraft and airborne reconnaissance surveillance systems used on the aircraft, according to a company official.

So far, the Army has allocated $26.38 million for the nine-month contract extension, which was announced Thursday, said Bob Ziegelaar, president of Bangor-based Telford Aviation Inc. The Army uses the aerial surveillance equipment to keep an eye on ground movement.

Telford has held a three-year contract for military aircraft maintenance since early 2005, Ziegelaar said.

“There’s no guarantee that we’ll get it all,” Ziegelaar said, referring to the full $75 million contract extension. “The way the government works, they may award you a contract for a certain amount but they only fund it in increments. But we’re reasonably assured that we’ll get the entire amount.”

Some of the contracted maintenance will be conducted at Telford facilities in Bangor, Maryland, Texas and Alabama, while other work will be done overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan, Ziegelaar said.

The nine-month extension should solidify Telford’s services until January 2009. Ziegelaar said that once the extension expires, he expects the U.S. Army to place the maintenance contract up for bid.

When asked whether the short-term contract extension might imply the Army’s uncertain timeline in Iraq, Ziegelaar said, “Whatever decisions are to be made in regards to Iraq, and I can’t speculate what they might be, this is not a case of the Army wanting to wait and see what will happen.”

When Telford was awarded its initial three-year contract, the company hired 50 employees with specialized skills from around the nation. About 40 of those 50 employees are working overseas, Ziegelaar said. The Telford Group has approximately 245 employees companywide, he said.

He estimated the total value of the original three-year contract at $110 million, explaining that the $75 million value of the nine-month extension was due to Telford’s escalating volume of work for the government.

“Apart from the aircraft maintenance, we are also now doing sensor maintenance,” he said.

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