Simulation specialist and training systems integrator CAE has a significant presence throughout the Asia-Pacific region, which includes nations that the Montreal-headquartered company considers “home markets,” such as Australia and New Zealand. Singapore is becoming increasingly important, as is India.
In characterizing the region, Ian Bell, CAE’s v-p and general manager for Asia-Pacific and Middle East, remarked, “It’s a huge marketplace and very diverse. There’s a lot of ocean and a lot of independent territories. We’re seeing a big increase in naval activity, and there’s a great willingness for ASEAN nations to work together.”
With its common database technology and ability to integrate complex training systems, CAE can provide synthetic training environments that not only support sovereign training, but also provide an environment for interoperability. “We need to meet the requirements of individual forces,” said Bell, “but they also want to train alongside their neighbors.”
One area that is of great significance is maritime patrol, and the company has considerable experience in providing training systems for a range of maritime patrol and anti-submarine platforms, training both pilots and rear crew. Having provided systems for training P-3 Orion crewmembers, CAE is also involved in the Boeing P-8 program, which is the Orion’s successor with both the U.S. and Australian navies, as well as serving with India.
In the rotary-wing world, the company provides training systems for the Royal Australian Navy’s Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk helicopters and New Zealand’s Kaman SH-2 Seasprites, and here in Singapore it supports the Super Puma and S-70B Seahawk communities. Other helicopter types for which CAE provides training aids in the region include the Australian army’s CH-47s and MRH90s, Leonardo AW139s and AW189s, and the Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawks of the Royal Brunei Air Force.
Training for the latter is conducted in the Multi-Purpose Training Centre (MPTC) established as a joint venture with the Brunei government. Regarded as something of a “flagship” for the company, the MPTC has advanced classrooms and simulation capability that provide training for a variety of users. In addition to flight training activities that support Brunei’s S-70i and S-92 helicopters, and PC-7 turboprop trainers, the MPTC is being developed to provide training in diverse fields such as emergency management and healthcare.
For the S-70i syllabus CAE (Stand U87) has installed a Series 3000 full mission simulator with CAE 6000 Medallion image-generation system. This permits a wide range of missions to be undertaken in the simulator, including offshore rig landings, firefighting, and flying with night-vision goggles. Initial training for Brunei’s S-70i crews was undertaken by Sikorsky at its West Palm Beach facility in Florida, but training in the CAE simulator at the MPTC began in December, and is growing fast as the RBAF explores the system’s capabilities. “The take-up of simulator hours is increasing as training moves from live to synthetic,” reported Bell. However, spare capacity in the simulator can also be leased out to third-party operators of the S-70i/UH-60M.
Another area of interest for CAE is remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) systems. The company is the training partner for General Atomics, and is a member of Team Reaper that is pitching the Predator B to Australia. Bell sees the use of RPAs in the region as growing, especially for maritime patrol and search and rescue work.