CAE today announced it signed a contract amendment last February with Cognac Formation Aero, a joint venture of Babcock France and Dassault Aviation, to provide an additional Pilatus PC-21 full-mission ground-based simulator to support pilot training for the French Air Force (Armée de l’Air). The pilot training for the French Air Force is delivered under a Program managed by DGA, the French procurement agency, and known as FOMEDEC (Formation Modernisée des Equipages de Chasse or Jet Pilots Modernised Training Program).
The Program is designed to train future French Air Force fighter pilots. CAE was previously subcontracted to develop a comprehensive PC-21 ground-based training system that was delivered in 2019 and included two PC-21 full-mission simulators and a suite of PC-21 part-task trainers.
“The addition of a third PC-21 full-mission simulator will significantly increase the synthetic training capabilities of the French Air Force at the Cognac-Châteaubernard Air Base,” said Marc-Olivier Sabourin, Vice President and General Manager, Defence & Security International, CAE. “The PC-21 ground-based training system plays a critical role in the overall training program and an additional PC-21 full-mission simulator will provide more flexibility while contributing to more effective live-flying training on the PC-21 aircraft fleet.”
Similar to the first two PC-21 full-mission ground-based simulators, the new PC-21 simulator will feature a Pilatus-provided PC-21 cockpit integrated with a range of CAE simulation and synthetic environment technologies, including the CAE Medallion-6000 image generator, Open Geospatial Consortium Common Database (OGC CDB) architecture, and computer-generated forces software. The new PC-21 full-mission simulator will be delivered in 2022 to the Cognac-Châteaubernard Air Base in southwest France. CAE currently provides on-site maintenance and support services on the PC-21 ground-based training system and will continue to provide these services on the new simulator.
The Program, managed by Babcock France in partnership with Dassault Aviation, delivers a comprehensive pilot training solution for the French Air Force featuring the provision and support of 17 PC-21 training aircraft, PC-21 ground-based training system, and modernized training facilities.
CAE’s Defence & Security business unit focuses on helping prepare our customers to develop and maintain the highest levels of mission readiness. We are a world-class training systems integrator offering a comprehensive portfolio of training centres, training services and simulation products across the air, land, sea and public safety market segments. We serve our global defence and security customers through regional operations in Canada; the United States/Latin America; Europe/Africa; and Asia-Pacific/Middle East, all of which leverage the full breadth of CAE’s capabilities, technologies and solutions.
CAE is a global leader in training for the civil aviation, defence and security, and healthcare markets. Backed by a record of more than 70 years of industry firsts, we continue to help define global training standards with our innovative virtual-to-live training solutions to make flying safer, maintain defence force readiness and enhance patient safety. We have the broadest global presence in the industry, with over 10,500 employees, 160 sites and training locations in over 35 countries. Each year, we train more than 220,000 civil and defence crewmembers, including more than 135,000 pilots, and thousands of healthcare professionals worldwide. www.cae.com
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