MONTREAL 14 Dec. 2009 CAE won a contract with the Royal Netherlands air force (RNLAF) to expand CH-47 Chinook helicopter training at CAE's Medium Support Helicopter Aircrew Training Facility (MSHATF) in the United Kingdom.

Under terms of the contract with the RNLAF, subject to usual approvals, CAE will first upgrade one of the CH-47 full-mission simulators located at the MSHATF to ensure compatibility with the RNLAF's current Avionics Control and Management System (ACMS) Block 5 CH-47D and new Block 6 CH-47F Chinook helicopters. Following the flight simulator upgrade, RNLAF Chinook aircrews will continue training at the MSHATF through 2018, gradually increasing training to at least 1,000 hours per year.

"With all these features, the simulator will enable the RNLAF pilots to train in the most advanced digital cockpit currently available for the Chinook helicopter," according to LTC Cor van der Gaag, RNLAF's project leader for both the new-build CH-47F Chinook and simulator upgrade program.

"Our MSHATF continues to be the most advanced helicopter training facility of its type in the world, and a perfect example of CAE's capabilities as a training systems integrator," says Martin Gagne, CAE's group president, Military Products, Training and Services.

The RNLAF began training their CH-47 Chinook aircrews at the MSHATF in 2003. Up until now, the RNLAF training curriculum included emergency, instrument, night-vision goggle (NVG), and tactical flight procedures during type conversion and recurrent training. The simulator upgrade will expand training to include a Terma-developed Chinook Aircraft Survivability Equipment (CHASE) electronic warfare suite and an L-3 Wescam forward-looking infrared (FLIR). In addition, a digital Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS) will support training pilots to land in brown-out conditions.