Page 96 - Australian Defence Magazine November 2021

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qualified to Level D equivalent standard and provides the option to fully qualify both pilots and sensor operators in the simulator with zero live flight time.
The Italian simulator is also the baseline for the mis- sion trainers under development by CAE for the Royal Air Force’ s MQ-9B-based Protector RG.1 RPAS.
In terms of other opportunities, Sibree pointed out that the C-27J Spartan lacked an in-country training system, with COVID presenting challenges for pilots still travel- ling to Italy to utilise the synthetic devices at the original equipment manufacturer Leonardo in Pisa.
As agreed with the Commonwealth, the CAE-owned and operated King Air 350 full motion simulator at East Sale can also be accessed by third parties – in this instance nu- merous civilian customers and the RNZAF – providing a rebate back to the Commonwealth for every hour sold and demonstrating a model that could be extended, for example to other platforms with regional operators.
Yet to be disclosed is any training requirement for the MC-55A Peregrine electronic warfare support system capa- bility based on four modified Gulfstream G550 airframes, the first of which will be delivered to the RAAF in 2023.
“We see a potential opportunity here because the flight model and operations will be different from a standard civil G550,” Sibree commented.
Of more immediate interest is the upcoming RAAF re- quirement under Project Air 5428 Phase 3 for an Air Mis- sion Training System to be located at RAAF Base East Sale. This will train Air Battle Managers, Air Mobility Officers, Air Traffic Controllers, Electronic Warfare Officers, Mari- time Patrol and Response officers, Operations Officers and Weapons Systems Officers.
The requirements are similar to the training supported by CAE for non-pilot US Naval Flight Officers (NFOs) at US Na- val Air Station Pensacola who are selected for the six-month Ad- vanced Maritime Command and Control course. In parallel, the company is pursuing a major contract with the Canadian govern- ment for the RCAF Future Aircrew Training System (FAcTS).
This involves a CAE-designed multicrew simulator
LEFT: The C-130J Hercules Fuselage Trainer at Richmond for training is an accurate and dedicated cargo compartment training device
BELOW: A CAE instructor supervises a KC-30A Air Refuelling Officer (ARO) during training at Amberley
(MCS) incorporating crew stations with interactive soft- ware running a series of instructor-programmed scenarios designed to facilitate the training of basic NFO skillsets.
Perhaps coincidentally, CAE Australia is now seriously examining taking the experience it has gained in the air domain and also delivering it in the naval space.
This aspiration will benefit from the recent US$1 billion acquisition by CAE of the L3Harris Technologies’ military training business. Among a broad range of capabilities, this brings with it experience in the development and delivery of training systems for submarines.
“There’s a concept coined by Navy called Ship Zero whereby training, sustainment, design engineering, experi- mentation and test would be undertaken under one roof,” Sibree states.
“Ideally, for each of the new classes of ship there would be a Ship Zero facility that would enable some onshore training to occur.
“We can see CAE playing a part in Ship Zero and we have been in discussions with various elements of Navy to better understand their requirement and where we could add value.
“We currently deliver to the UAE Navy their naval training centre and that integrates several classes of ships in a synthetic environment. That centre also has the capability to then bring ships that are either alongside or at sea into a live, virtual and constructive environment so it’s not new to CAE, it is new to us in Australia, and we see a path we could play there.” ■
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