CAE wins $115M in defence contracts

The MQ1 Predator is an armed, multi-mission, medium-altitude, long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft . PHOTO: CAE

The contracts, valued at approximately C$115 million, include MQ-1 Predator/MQ-9 Reaper aircrew training to the United States Air Force (USAF), a contract to update the Royal Canadian Air Force’s CP-140 simulator, and a contract to design and manufacture a UH-72A flight training device for the United States Army.

Contract details include:
USAF Predator/MQ-9 Reaper
The United States Air Force (USAF) has exercised the contract option for the second year of CAE USA providing MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) aircrew training services and courseware development. CAE USA will continue providing classroom, simulator and live flying instruction for more than 1,500 pilots and sensor operators who train annually at Holloman Air Force Base (AFB) in New Mexico; Creech AFB in Nevada; March Air Reserve Base in California; and Hancock Air National Guard Base in New York.

RCAF CP-140 Aurora
CAE will perform a visual system update on the Royal Canadian Air Force’s CP-140 full-flight simulator (FFS), which includes a CAE Medallion-6000 image generator and new display system. CAE will also implement the Common Database (CDB) architecture capability on the CP-140 FFS to significantly enhance the RCAF’s ability to correlate, re-use, and rapidly update databases to support training and mission rehearsal requirements.

U.S. Army UH-72A Lakota
CAE was awarded a contract by Airbus Defense and Space, Inc. to manufacture a new UH-72A Lakota Synthetic Flight Training System (SFTS). This UH-72A SFTS—the second CAE is currently building for the U.S. Army—will be delivered to Ft. Rucker, Alabama during the summer of 2015. These devices will support rotary wing pilot training at the U.S. Army’s Aviation Center of Excellence (USAACE).

The UH-72A SFTS features a helicopter specific cockpit with the fidelity and performance of a full-flight simulator without the full motion. The UH-72A SFTS features a wide 200-degree by 70-degree field-of-view display system driven by the CAE Medallion-6000 image generator to immerse pilots in a high-fidelity synthetic training environment. The UH-72A SFTS for the U.S. Army will be fielded with the CAE-developed Common Database (CDB), enhancing the Army’s ability to leverage existing U.S. Government-owned databases to support their helicopter training requirements.

Montreal-based CAE designs and builds aviation training solutions. It employs 8,000 people at more than 160 sites and training locations in 35 countries.