Contractors Offer Simulators To Address Pilot Shortages.

AuthorTadjdeh, Yasmin

* As the military looks to industry to provide it with more training for its pilots and aircrews, companies are developing 1new and expanded services to meet the growing demand.

CAE, a Canadian simulations technology company, is currently providing Army and Air Force pilots with C-12 Huron training at its new facility in Dothan, Alabama. The Army is the primary customer at the 79,000 square-foot center, which is located 30 miles away from Fort Rucker.

For the Army, the company offers pilots the initial entry fixed-wing C-12 course that includes classroom, simulator and aircraft training. It also supports the aviator qualification, instructor pilot and aviator refresher courses for the aircraft.

The schoolhouse at Dothan--which is located on the grounds of the town's regional airport--supports seven courses, four for the Army and three for the Air Force, said Todd Conyers, the program manager of the facility.

The company is looking to expand its work with the Air Force.

"The Air Force is openly soliciting industry for concepts that could offload some of their undergraduate pilot training needs," said Raymond Duquette, president and general manager of CAE USA. Should the Air Force choose CAE for that, the company could decide to expand the facility.

Service leadership, including Secretary Heather Wilson and Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein, have noted the challenge of retaining enough pilots. A lack of training aircraft is part of the problem, they have said.

"Pilot retention continues to be a significant concern," Wilson and Goldfein said in shared testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee in the summer.

The service was 1,555 pilots short at the end of fiscal 2016--which includes 1,211 fighter pilots--and the deficit is expected to grow, according to Air Force documents.

And the issue is not limited to just the United States, Wilson said. "There's a demand for pilots and it is a global demand," she added.

Duquette noted that the Air Force has had trouble meeting its training requirements as the service faces pilot shortages.

Meanwhile, for the Army, CAE won its contract--which includes one year plus six additional option years--in 2015 and it began building the center after months of protests and subsequent legal proceedings by the incumbent company FlightSafety International, Conyers noted. The facility officially opened in March 2017. It includes 10 classrooms, 28 debriefing rooms, multiple simulators, a cafeteria, lounges and...

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