CAE to deliver aircraft simulators for ADF and RNZAF

CAE has been awarded contracts to address training requirements of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF).

CAE has been awarded contracts to address training requirements of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF).

Awarded at the 2012 Interservice / Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) in Florida, US, the contracts cover provision of Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350 aircraft flying training to ADF, and C-130 training to RNZAF aircrews.

Under the first contract, the company will field a CAE 5000 series full-flight simulator (FFS) representing the King Air 350 with Proline II configuration to train the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) King Air 350 aircrew at a training facility in Sale, Victoria, until 2018.

Training Aircraft Systems Programme Office (TASPO) commanding officer group captain Gregory Hoffmann said, "The simulator services provided by CAE will play a key role in the cost-effective training of RAAF pilots, air combat officers and RAN aviation warfare officers."

The simulator services are scheduled to support the RAAF’s No. 32 Squadron at RAAF Base East Sale in Victoria, as well as the School of Aviation Warfare (SAW) in Australia.

Qualified to Level D, the simulator represents the second King Air 350 FFS deployed the company in Australia, following the inauguration of a King Air 350 ProLine 21 FFS in Melbourne in July 2012.

Under the second contract, the company will provide a comprehensive C-130 training to the RNZAF personnel using C-130 Level D full-mission simulator at its Amsterdam Training Centre in Hoofdorp, the Netherlands.

The simulator was originally delivered to the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) in 2010, and is used to train RNZAF as part of an agreement signed between CAE and the Netherlands Ministry of Defence (MoD) for marketing and sale for third-party training services.

The C-130 simulator closely resembles the configuration of upgraded C-130H aircraft fleet of RNZAF, which also uses a CAE-built C-130H flight training device for in-country training at RNZAF base in Auckland, New Zealand.

Image: A Royal Australian Air Force Beechcraft B300 King Air 350 aircraft. Photo: en:User:YSSYguy.