AIR safety company Flight Precision has been bought by defence and aerospace group Cobham in a multi-million pound deal.

The company, which employs about 40 staff and is based at Durham Tees Valley Airport, near Darlington, is expected to see business grow by 30 per cent as a result of the deal.

Flight Precision will continue to trade from Durham Tees Valley with the same team following the deal.

Cobham already owned a 51 per cent interest in the company, and has now bought the remaining shares.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange yesterday, Cobham said it had bought the remaining shares in Flight Precision, and its German sister company Aerodata Flight Inspection, for £7.7m.

Flight Precision inspects landing systems, radar and other navigational aids for the safe operation of aircraft at commercial and military airports.

Its customers include UK regional airports, the RAF, the Civil Aviation Authority, and air traffic control services.

It also has overseas customers in Lithuania, Jordan, Germany, Belgium, Ireland and Greece.

Together, Flight Precision and Aerodata have customers in 28 countries. The acquisitions will strengthen Cobham's position in the flight inspection market.

Alex Hannam, group managing director of Cobham's services division, said: "The flight inspection service market worldwide is growing steadily, with the emergence of new airports and equipment upgrades and a trend by military and civil organisations to outsource flight inspection activities.

"With an enlarged fleet of common aircraft and bases in the UK and mainland Europe, we are well placed for further growth."

Flight Precision announced in November it was taking part in tests to determine how well airports can distinguish between planes and the turbine blades of wind farms.

The blades can interfere with airport radar systems, showing up on air traffic controllers' displays as aeroplanes.