Simulation technology specialist CAE announced it has been awarded a contract amendment for the upgrades of the E-3A flight deck simulator and E-3A flight training device located at NATO Airbase Geilenkirchen in Germany.
Signed with the NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Program Management Agency (NAPMA), the contract will see the company update the training devices to the latest standards of the advanced communication, navigation, surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) systems currently being implemented on NATO’s fleet of 14 E-3A Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft.
According to the company, the avionics updates to the E-3A flight deck simulator will be complete in 2021.
“CAE has supported the training of NATO E-3A aircrews for almost 40 years, and these simulators continue to play a key role helping ensure the readiness of the E-3A aircrews from 16 nations who carry out a range of critical missions,” said Marc-Olivier Sabourin, Vice President and General Manager, Defence & Security International, CAE. “The avionics upgrades we will deliver continue our longstanding support of the E-3A training devices, and we look forward to supporting the NATO E-3A AWACS mission through 2035 as part of the Final Lifetime Extension Program of the fleet.”
CAE designed and manufactured the original NATO E-3A flight deck simulator that entered service in 1982. Since that time, the simulator has been continuously upgraded and enhanced to ensure concurrency with the aircraft and enable E-3A aircrews to conduct more synthetic training.
The E-3A flight deck simulator is currently qualified to Level D, the highest for flight simulators. The E-3A flight training device is qualified to Level II and is used to support familiarization and procedural training for aircrews prior to full-mission training in the E-3A flight deck simulator.
