Patchway engine giant Rolls- Royce has struck a £75 million deal with the Malaysian Air Force.

The firm has won a five-year contract to service the Adour engines that power the Hawk fleet of aircraft.

Rolls, which has 3,500 staff at Patchway, will have about 30 people working on the project over the five-year period.

In addition, the deal includes an annual training programme for Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) engineers and the maintenance of the Adour engine testing centre located at the Kuantan Air Base in Malaysia.

The RMAF will also be supported by an in-country technical representative and have access to the Rolls-Royce Operations Centre in Patchway for 24/7 technical support.

Benjamin Downing, vice president of customer business at Rolls-Royce Defence Aerospace, said:

"This long-term MissionCare contract has enabled Rolls-Royce to provide the RMAF with improved support and capability and the additional benefit of a predictable budget cycle.

"The Adour has been a hugely successful engine and we believe that there are great opportunities for Rolls-Royce to further improve the support and performance of the installed fleet by partnering with customers like the RMAF."

General Tan Sri Dato' Sri Azizan bin Ariffin, Chief of Royal Malaysian Air Force, said: "Rolls-Royce has been instrumental in assisting the RMAF to adopt the most suitable solution for its Adour Mk871 engines.

"We are confident this excellent partnership will continue towards generating a genuine 'win-win' situation for the coming years."

In January, Rolls struck a £198m deal to service engines for the UK's Harrier jump jets. The 10-year contract will see the Bristol division of the firm service Pegasus engines that power the UK's Joint Force Harrier, which is operated in partnership by both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown is close to signing the next Eurofighter deal, it was reported yesterday.

The £20 billion contract for 88 of the planes, whose engines are made by Rolls at Patchway, is expected to be signed this week.

The new deal is for the third series of the planes, with construction of the second phase currently under way and due for completion in 2012.