CAE to Support NATO Flying Training in Canada Through 2023

CAE has announced that the Government of Canada has formally modified the contract for the NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) program and will now utilize the NFTC program through at least 2023.

The original NFTC 20-year contract was scheduled to expire in 2021. As the Government of Canada announced in 2015, it decided to modify the operating period of the NFTC to at least 2023 to allow the Government to begin evaluating its future aircrew training requirements. The modified operating period of the NFTC contract has resulted in CAE booking an order valued at more than $300 million during the company's third quarter of fiscal 2017. In addition, the modified operating period of the NFTC contract includes a one-year option to extend the contract through 2024.

In addition to modifying the operating period and extending the NFTC contract through 2023, CAE will also add new capabilities and perform a range of upgrades and updates to the overall NFTC training system and aircraft over the next several years, these will include upgrades to the two existing CT-155 Hawk flight training devices (FTDs); upgrades to the three existing CT-156 Harvard FTDs; minor upgrades, ongoing maintenance and obsolescence management for the fleet of CT-155 Hawk aircraft; and minor upgrades, ongoing maintenance and obsolescence management for the fleet of CT-156 Harvard aircraft.

As the prime contractor for the NFTC program, CAE operates the NFTC base facilities, delivers the ground-school classroom and simulator training, and supports the live flying training on a fleet of Beechcraft T-6 (CT-156 Harvard) and BAE Systems Hawk (CT-155 Hawk) aircraft. CAE operates the NFTC program out of 15 Wing Moose Jaw and 4 Wing Cold Lake, and the program is designed and delivered in cooperation with the Government of Canada. The NFTC program combines basic, advanced, and lead-in fighter training as part of the comprehensive military pilot training program.