Story ID: 330
CAE’s Brunei Training Center Serves the Region
By: Bill Carey
Caption: Visiting the “Abode of Peace” before the show, journalists got to see how Canada’s CAE has created a training paradise.
Word Count: 892
Canadian simulation and training provider CAE has a stake in the future of Brunei, as the Southeast Asian nation seeks to diversify its economy from a concentration on oil and gas. The two are joint venture partners in a state-of-the-art multipurpose training centre (MPTC) that supports commercial and military flight training, not only in Brunei but throughout the region.

Located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, and surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, Brunei Darussalan (the “abode of peace”) is a tiny nation of some 420,000 people that gained independence from the UK in 1984. Today, 67 percent of its GDP is derived from the oil and gas sector, which has left it vulnerable to the global decline in oil prices.

Brunei is not unprepared for upheaval though; under its long-term Wawasan–or Vision–2035 strategy, the young nation aims to achieve a diversified, sustainable economy. “Perhaps it’s an even stronger wake-up call,” Harris Ibrahim, head of foreign direct investment with the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB), said of the oil price crash. “But initiatives have been in place for the past four or five years.”

Drawing foreign direct investment is a major thrust of Brunei’s economic strategy and helped lay the groundwork for Montreal-based CAE’s presence in the country. The nation allows 100-percent foreign ownership of companies, but CAE has entered into a joint-venture partnership with the Brunei Ministry of Finance to establish the MPTC, with the parties owning 60 percent and 40 percent, respectively. The BEDB owns the facility and leases it to CAE. The center employs 35 people and represents an investment of $102 million.

“This is a showcase for CAE for sure–not only the facility, but the business model,” said Peter Redman, general manager for Asia Pacific with CAE Defence and Security. Redman was among CAE and Brunei government executives who hosted reporters at the training center last week.

Built in 15 months, the Brunei MPTC started training pilots in September 2014. It houses a CAE Pilatus PC-7Mk II flight training device (FTD) the Royal Brunei Air Force uses to screen and train aspiring student pilots; a 3000 Series full-motion simulator for the Sikorsky S-92 medium twin-engine helicopter, which serves multiple offshore helicopter operators; and as of this fall a Series 3000 simulator for training Brunei air force S-70i Black Hawk pilots. The center also houses a training center for emergency management trainees that supports the Brunei National Disaster Management Centre and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

CAE is no stranger to the Asia Pacific region; it has aviation training centers at Seletar Aerospace Link in Singapore as well as in Kuala Lumpur, the Philippines, Japan, Korea, China and Bangalore. But Brunei is the company’s only multi-purpose training center in the region focused on the offshore and military markets.

Kevin Speed, Brunei MPTC general manager, traced CAE’s involvement with the nation to the Brunei Darussalam International Defence Exhibition held in 2009. There, CAE learned of and ultimately won a ministry of defence contract to provide a national modeling and simulation system. “That was the start of us having boots on the ground” in Brunei, he said.

The Royal Brunei Air Force’s 2011 order for 12 Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawks–now all delivered–presented another opportunity. But the first customer to sign a contract to use the facility was Brunei Shell. The energy company “was looking for an option other than traveling all the way to North America or potentially Aberdeen (Scotland) at the time to train on the S-92. They were really looking for a local solution. All of those pieces came together for a win-win business case,” Speed said.

The Level D S-92 simulator was certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency in May 2014, followed in succession by the Brunei Department of Civil Aviation, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Australia and the Civil Aviation Administration of China. While Brunei Shell is its anchor customer, China Southern Helicopter uses the simulator most. Other customers include Bristow Helicopter Australia, CHC Helicopter Australia, S-92 operators in Thailand and Korea and the Royal Thai Air Force, attesting to the regional appeal of the $15 million machine.

The PC-7 flight training device passed ministry of defence acceptance in May 2014 and became operational that November. The air force uses four PC-7 turboprops for ab-initio pilot training; the FTD helps it screen out students who will not make good pilots and further train those who have the appropriate skills without the expense and risk of using the aircraft. The course syllabus is completed with a ratio of 60 percent simulator sorties and 40 percent actual flying sorties, according to the air force.

Student pilots who plan to fly Brunei’s CN-235 twin-engine transports undergo fixed-wing multi-engine training at Tamworth, Australia, or in the UK. Those planning to fly helicopters graduate to the Bell JetRanger for advanced rotary-wing training.

Ultimately, Brunei’s helicopter pilots will graduate to the Black Hawk. The S-70i simulator that will hone their skills was undergoing test and integration work in Montreal at the time of the press tour. CAE plans to ship the $20 million machine this summer and to begin training with it by October, providing Brunei and the region with a sophisticated new capability.