CAE announced that CAE USA is authorized to proceed on the United States Army contract to provide advanced helicopter flight training support services.

Under terms of the contract, CAE USA will provide classroom, simulator, and live flying instructor support services for Army aviators training to fly the CH-47 Chinook, UH-60 Black Hawk, and AH-64 Apache helicopters. The flight training support services will be provided at the U.S. Army’s Aviation Center of Excellence (USAACE) at Fort Rucker, Alabama.

The total value of the contract, including the one-year base contract and six one-year options through 2027, is expected to be approximately $90 million. The initial base contract was included as part of CAE’s first quarter fiscal year 2021 order intake. The contract was protested and the contract award to CAE USA was subsequently upheld by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

“We are honored the U.S. Army selected CAE to provide flight training services for aviators transitioning to fly the Army’s frontline combat helicopters,” said Ray Duquette, president and general manager, CAE USA. 

Once Army aviators graduate from the Initial-Entry Rotary-Wing training program, they are assigned to continue training on one of the Army’s frontline combat helicopters or transition to fixed-wing training on the C-12 Huron. CAE USA will now provide the instructor pilots required to deliver the flight training to approximately 900 Army aviators annually transitioning to the CH-47 Chinook, UH-60 Black Hawk, or AH-64 Apache. CAE USA will also deliver additional flight training support services by providing maintenance examiners and non-rated crewmember flight engineers. 

“When combined with the fixed-wing flight training program we already support at our Dothan Training Center, CAE will now play a pivotal role supporting the training of all Army aviators progressing to their assigned operational aircraft,” said Dan Gelston, group president, Defense & Security, CAE. 

Several industry partners will support CAE USA on delivering the Army’s Advanced Helicopter Flight Training Services, including Navigator Development Group, Pinnacle Solutions and MAG Aerospace.