By Ken Pole | May 31, 2016 Estimated reading time 2 minutes, 42 seconds.
Flight-suited Sean Gustafson, vice-president of business development at Draken International, shows Mike Greenley of CAE Inc., one of the McDonnell Douglas A-4N Skyhawks which would be part of an integrated training package proposed for the Royal Canadian Air Force. Ken Pole Photo
In what could be called the “Battle of the Skyhawks,” simulator giant CAE Inc. of Montreal and Florida-based Draken International have formed a joint venture to compete for the Canadian government’s Contracted Airborne Training Services (CATS) program.
A 10-year CATS contract is expected to be awarded by the government by the end of this year. It would involve electronic warfare and aggressor training as well as target towing and sundry support work.
Dale Snodgrass, a retired United States Navy carrier pilot and now chief pilot and director of deployed operations for Draken, flew a McDonnell Douglas A-4N Skyhawk to Ottawa May 24 for the duration of the 2016 CANSEC trade show organized by the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI).
On static display at the Innotech service centre at Ottawa International Airport, a short distance away from the CANSEC venue, the modernized Skyhawk is a former Israeli Air Force asset. It would be one of 15 aircraft Draken would use for aggressor and other training if it wins the CATS competition.
Montreal-based Discovery Air Defence (DA Defence) had already confirmed that it would offer the same Skyhawk model as part of a competing CATS proposal. DA Defence currently provides aggressor training for the Canadian Armed Forces and the German Luftwaffe.
DA Defence, which also plans to add General Dynamics F-16s to its training fleet, is promoting its plan as the only “purely Canadian” approach while Draken is capitalizing on the fact that it has largest fleet of privately-owned tactical aircraft.
Mike Greenley, vice-president and general manager of CAE Canada, Military, said in a pre-CANSEC briefing that CAE’s position in the joint venture would leverage the company’s training systems integration capabilities and its experience in managing NATO Flying Training in Canada since late last year.
