CAE has signed a ten-year agreement to provide flight training support services for all three armed services of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The value of the contract is about C$70 million, based on expected maintenance and support requirements. The innovative long-term agreement, renewable in five-year increments, combines and extends three existing training support contracts and requires CAE to become an Authorised Engineering Organisation (AEO). This means the company will be authorized to provide overall project management, having authority to approve system integration design and future simulator upgrades.

The ADF’s Technical Airworthiness Regulator will conduct the certification process, which will be the first initiated for flight simulators.

“CAE is an important partner to the ADF in supporting flight simulation capability, and this is a practical example of a more strategic approach to our defence industry relationships, as heralded in the draft Aerospace Sector Plan recently released for industry review,” said Air Vice-Marshal Monaghan, head of the aerospace system division in the Defence Materiel Organisation.“

The Aerospace Sector Plan proposes the restructuring of Australia’s defence industry to enhance its capabilities and to make it more sustainable. Flight simulation support is noted in the plan as a critical industry capability.

“The achievement of this innovative tri-service contract demonstrates the close working relationship between CAE, the Defence Materiel Organisation and the Army, Navy and Air Force in Australia,” said Donald W. Campbell, group president, military simulation and training, CAE. “Initiation of AEO accreditation will cement CAE’s role as a long-term integrated training solutions partner, and recognizes the importance of retaining core engineering skills in providing the ADF with the necessary level of ongoing local support.”

The training support services to be provided by CAE include on-site maintenance of flight simulators and associated training systems, engineering services, spares support and logistics management, and instructor training. The agreement represents a significant new milestone in the relationship between CAE and the ADF. In the past three years, CAE has delivered to the ADF flight simulators for the Boeing 707, Lockheed Martin C-130J and C-130H, and the Sikorsky S-70A-9 Black Hawk aircraft. All of these simulators have been designed to meet or exceed Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority Level 5 standards (equivalent to FAA Level D) and have achieved accreditation.

In addition to the recently delivered simulators, CAE has also provided on-site maintenance and engineering services for the Royal Australian Navy’s Sikorsky S-70B-2 Seahawk flight mission simulator. This simulator is included in the new omnibus agreement, making it the first through-life support contract to include simulators from all three branches of the Australian armed services.

FMI: www.cae.com