Defense contractor CAE wins major global contracts

The Montreal-based CAE Inc. has won three major defense contracts recently, valued at more than $90 million.

The defense contracting firm will provide simulation products, operational systems and training services for global military customers.

CAE will provide training services for U.S. Air Force personnel for remote piloting of MQ-1 Predator/MQ-9 Reaper drones and magnetic anomaly detection systems for the Japanese military. CAE, a long-time player in the aerospace sector, will also be building a C-130J simulator for Lockheed Martin.

"We are continuing to see increased opportunities globally for the delivery of training services, and we are well positioned to capitalize on this trend," Gene Colabatistto, CAE's group president for defense and security, said. "I am particularly pleased with how we have been able to expand our support to the U.S. Air Force on the MQ-1 Predator/MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial system training program, which is an area of significant growth across the global defense market."

The MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper contract will see CAE preparing aircrew training services and courseware development. CAE will significantly increase the number of training instructors it employs to support the training programs. The majority of the new instructors will be based at Holloman Air Force Base (AFB) in New Mexico.

"Unmanned aerial system pilot training in the U.S. Department of Defense has received significant attention since the release of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report several months ago, and the Air Force is taking a number of initiatives to improve UAS pilot training," Ray Duquette, president and general manager of CAE USA, said. "One of these initiatives is to address the shortage of instructors at the formal training units at Holloman.”