CAE Wins C$200 Million Airbus C295W Canadian A F Training Contract

Airbus has awarded CAE a C$200 million contract for a comprehensive C295W aircrew and maintenance training solution to support the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) Fixed-Wing Search and Rescue (FWSAR) program.

Over the next 11 years including the options to extend an additional 15 years would take the value to more than C$300 million, the company said in a statement Monday.

The Airbus C295W was selected by the Government of Canada as its new FWSAR platform in December 2016. As part of the FWSAR program, the RCAF will receive 16 C295W aircraft specifically modified for search and rescue. 

The contract related to the C295W training systems and services is divided into three phases.

 First, during the acquisition and development phase over the next three years, CAE will lead the design and building of a new training centre facility at 19 Wing in Comox, British Columbia. Housed in the training centre will be a suite of CAE-built training devices, including C295W full-flight simulator (FFS), C295W cockpit procedures trainer (CPT), C295W sensor station simulator used for rear-crew training, C295W operational mission simulator to support networking of the sensor station simulator with FFS or CPT to provide full-crew mission training, Eight C295W mission procedures trainers, C295W aircraft maintenance trainer, C295W cockpit systems part-task trainer and Ten classrooms featuring CAE Simfinity C295W virtual maintenance trainer (VMT) stations.

Following delivery of the training centre facility and C295W training suite in late 2019, phase two of the contract will commence with CAE leading a three-year in-service support (ISS) transition period for the C295W aircrew and maintenance training program. 

Following the transition period, phase three will begin with the 20-year in-service support phase, which is divided into a base five-year ISS contract with three additional five-year options. 

During the in-service support phases, CAE will be responsible for providing a range of training services, including training device upgrades and maintenance, hardware and software engineering, courseware updates, technology insertion and obsolescence management, and other in-service support services. CAE will also be responsible for providing academic and simulator instructors to deliver aircrew and maintenance training.