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The company delivering the Hawk MK127 full-mission simulators to Australia says it is close to being formally accepted by the Australian government.
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Simulation and training experts CAE told Defence Connect "we expect the Commonwealth of Australia to formally accept the first Hawk full-mission simulator at Williamtown later this month [May 2017] and the Hawk full-mission simulator at Pearce next month [June 2017]".
Ian Bell, vice president and general manager for Asia-Pacific/Middle East at CAE, said installation of the company's third Hawk full-mission simulator has commenced.
"The third Hawk full-mission simulator that we developed has arrived on site at Williamtown and installation has commenced," Bell said. "We expect this simulator, which is the second Hawk full-mission simulator for Williamtown, to be ready for training by the September/October 2017 timeframe."
Bell said CAE's presence at RAAF Base Williamtown and RAAF Base Pearce has been beneficial for both Australian workers and the company, which is hoping to further expand its presence in Australia.
"CAE has added approximately 10 jobs as a result of being contracted to provide training services for the Hawk Mk127 training program. We have added technicians, a maintenance manager and simulator instructors at RAAF Base Williamtown, and technicians at RAAF Base Pearce," he said.
"The addition of RAAF Base Williamtown and RAAF Base Pearce as sites where CAE provides training support services to the Royal Australian Air Force increases our already substantial footprint and adds the fast-jet community to our support services portfolio in Australia.
"Our contract to support Hawk training increases our instructor workforce to support the delivery of academic and simulator training, which is an area of focus for CAE as we aim to support our defence customers with experienced, high-quality aircrew instructors. The Hawk program is another example of the Royal Australian Air Force increasingly leveraging high-fidelity synthetic training to accomplish more of their overall training curriculum, which ultimately enhances safety and efficiency, and cost-effectively contributes to mission readiness."
The contract, which was awarded to CAE during Avalon Airshow this year, is valued at $14.5 million.
