Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) Bedek Aviation Group and Mitsui & Co have signed a contract to establish a 50:50 joint venture company that will convert B767-300 aircraft from passenger to special freighter configuration.

IAI and Mitsui intend to establish the JV – M&B Conversions Ltd – in Ireland within the next couple of months.

The partners have begun developing a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) in order to obtain US Federal Aviation Administration and European Aviation Safety Agency approvals in 2008.

The global cargo freighter market is expected to triple in size over the next twenty years due to the booming demand in China, India and other countries. The number of cargo freighters is forecast to double to about 3,500 during the same period, and the ratio of medium-wide-body aircraft, including the B767-300, will increase.