The advanced adversary and aggressor air training program offered by CAE in collaboration with tactical support flight company Draken International previously proposed to the Canadian Air Force will be offered other potential clients around the world.
Earlier this year, CAE Defence and Security Canada announced its partnership with Draken and its bid to deliver the Canadian Armed Forces Contracted Airborne Training Services (CATS).
The CAE and Draken team have proposed a fleet of Douglas A-4 Skyhawk fighter aircraft to support the CATS program. The fleet has had extensive upgrades and now delivers capabilities similar to Canada’s CF-18 fighter aircraft they would be training against. CAE and Draken have also proposed a comprehensive research and development program aimed at developing the next-generation live-virtual-constructive (LVC) training capabilities for adversary and aggressor air training services.
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In a recent press release, CAE and Draken said they have signed a memorandum of understanding to pursue global opportunities related to providing advanced adversary and aggressor air training programs to other potential clients
“We are pleased to expand our partnership with Draken to focus on next-generation training solutions for the aggressor air training domain,” said Chuck Morant, CAE’s vice president of global strategy and business development, defence and security. “There is a growing market for third-party adversary training, and we believe the integration of virtual and constructive capabilities will be critical to providing realistic and high-quality training for pilots flying fifth-generation fighters. The combination of Draken’s fighter aircraft with CAE’s virtual and constructive simulation technologies will create an integrated and immersive red air training capability.”
CAE and Draken will explore collaborative development and pursuit of integrated LVC training in areas such as air combat support, contracted adversary and aggressor air training, embedded simulation, tactical training, threat simulation, and joint terminal attack controller (JTAC) training. The two companies anticipate pursuing global opportunities in markets including the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe; Australia and other parts of Asia/Pacific; and North America.
“Draken has unmatched experience and capabilities for live adversary and aggressor air training as evidenced by our role providing similar services to the United States Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps,” said Sean “Stroker” Gustafson, vice president of business development for Draken International. “We are firm believers that the future of fighter training will involve an integrated mix of live-virtual-constructive training capabilities, and there is no better global partner than CAE to bring world-class virtual and constructive simulation technologies to our world-leading fleet of privately-owned fighter aircraft.”
“The expansion of our partnership with Draken is yet another example of CAE developing its capabilities as a full-service training systems integrator,” said Gene Colabatistto, CAE’s group president, defence, and security. “Over the past year, we have acquired the NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) program and won the U.S. Army Fixed-Wing Flight Training program, both of which involve the provision of the classroom, simulator, and live-flying training. We will continue to look for opportunities to deliver full-spectrum solutions across the training enterprise for our global defence customers.”