CAE awarded US Army heli training contract
CAE USA will provide rotary-wing flight training instructor support services to the US Army under a contract announced on 12 January.
The contract will see the company provide classroom, simulator, and live flying instructor support services for the US Army's Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker, Alabama.
The army's Initial Entry Rotary-Wing (IERW) training programme provides the training required to qualify new helicopter pilots. Training incorporates academic (classroom), simulator, and live flying training on TH-67 Creek and UH-72 Lakota helicopters. Following graduation from the IERW training programme, students continue helicopter training on one of the army's frontline combat helicopters: the UH-60 Black Hawk, AH-64 Apache, or CH-47 Chinook; or transition to the army fixed-wing flight training programme that is also run by CAE.
The army's IERW programme also supports initial helicopter training for the US Air Force.
Ray Duquette, president and general manager, CAE USA, said: ‘We are honoured the US Army selected CAE once again as its training partner to support the instruction required for its new helicopter pilots.
‘This contract for rotary-wing training instruction follows a major contract awarded by the US Army to CAE for fixed-wing flight training that will see us open a new training centre in Dothan, Alabama in March.’
The contract was awarded as a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for over US$50 million for the transition and base one-year period. Its total value, including the one-year base contract and then eight one-year options through March 2026, is expected to be more than US$450 million.
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