Canada has extended its agreement for Top Aces adversary air and joint terminal attack controller training through October 2029, and next year it will add Douglas A-4 Skyhawk “advanced aggressor fighters” to its Canada fleet. Top Aces operates Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jets and Bombardier Learjet 45s and has been training Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) pilots since 2005.
Training with two A-4s begins in the second quarter of 2024, and Top Aces will add two more A-4s by 2025. The training is designed to reduce the need to use CF-18s in adversary roles, according to Top Aces, and it will also help “mitigate the anticipated human resources challenges associated with the transition to the F-35,” the company explained.
Top Aces has developed its own advanced aggressor mission system (AAMS), an open-architecture platform that can accommodate tactical datalink, active electronically scanned array radar, and other upgrades.
“Top Aces continues to modernize and enhance our services to meet the evolving needs of the RCAF,” said Top Aces founder and CEO Paul Bouchard. “The addition of AAMS is very significant because it integrates sensors and functions that replicate advanced adversary fighter aircraft. This latest enhancement will be particularly beneficial to the RCAF as it transitions to the HEP2 CF-18 and subsequently the F-35.”