A partnership between two of Canada’s largest aerospace companies has been awarded an $8.1 billion (USD) contract to provide flight training aircraft and infrastructure to the Royal Canadian Air Force for 25 years starting in 2029. SkyAlyne, which is simulator training company CAE and MRO KF Aerospace, will buy 71 new aircraft to be used by RCAF instructors to train new pilots for almost all of its frontline platforms. The Future Aircrew Training (FAcT) program will also support the training of air combat systems officers and airborne electronic sensor operators. Both companies are involved in the current training program.
SkyAlyne will buy 23 Grob G 120TP turboprop singles for basic flight training and seven Beechcraft King Air 260s for multi-IFR training, and helicopter pilots will get 19 Airbus H135s. There will also be three De Havilland Dash-8 Q400s with mission training systems aboard. Future F-35 fighter pilots will take advanced training on 19 Pilatus PC-21s but will be sent to Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas for the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot training program and to the International Flying Training School at Decimomannu, Italy, for actual jet time. The company will buy its own advanced jet trainers by 2028.
Most of the fixed-wing training will happen at Canadian Forces Base Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, but the Dash-8s will be based at CFB Winnipeg. All helicopter training will occur at Southport, Manitoba. The RCAF is undergoing a fleet-wide renewal with tens of billions in new equipment including 85 F-35s, 16 P-8s and nine A330 tanker/transports. It’s also standing up a squadron of 11 MQ-9B Reaper drones.
Where’s all those electric trainers that are supposed to take over the world?
I dunno but a turboprop Grob 120 sounds like a lot of fun to me.
In fact FAcT is actually FAT. The irony of the irony can only come from government
From my time at Fort Fuddle on the Rideau (NDHQ) there would be months and months choosing “the” acronym and how it might be twisted – in two languages! In the 80s the CF (not armed at the time, woke ahead of its time) bought three P3 “slicks” (no ASW sensor suite) overnight. The transport tribe didn’t want them hauling stuff, so the maritime side swore they’d be used for arctic surveillance. Our P3s were called Aurora (a star in Orion’s Belt) and they named the slicks Arcturus (another star in Orion’s Belt). The ink had hardly dried … some one said, oh they’re “Arctic Tourists”.
Reminds me of the Fresno Air Terminal in California. KFAT.
Keep in mind these are announcements. The current Liberal government is very fond of making big buck announcements, especially in defence, and then cutting back or cancelling or dragging out implementation.
Except this is a contract with the private sector and not direct government spending.
Does anyone know if this replaces the NFTC (NATO Flight Training in Canada) contract managed by Bombardier?
Yes. Bombardier sold its stake to CAE a few years ago and FAcT replaces the entire training system now in place.
Okay – thanks for the info, Russ.
Russ, I meant to comment that I agree w/you about the Grob but apparently reported your post instead. FWIW, I’d recommend deleting the “…comment” from the “Report” link.
“Future F-35 fighter pilots will take advanced training on 19 Pilatus PC-21s but will be sent to Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas for the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot training program and to the International Flying Training School at Decimomannu, Italy, for actual jet time. The company will buy its own advanced jet trainers by 2028.”
So are we sending F-35 trainees to Shepherd AND Decimomannu? Only until 2028 when SkyAlyne gets its own advanced jet trainers? Which base – Moosejaw or Southport?