Officials of the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, announced a $20.1 million order Thursday to the Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems segment in Orlando, Fla., to upgrade the Aeronautica Militare C-130J operational flight trainer and cockpit avionics part task trainer.
Lockheed Martin partners with flight simulation specialist CAE Inc. in Montreal to design and build simulation and training systems for the C-130-series aircraft for the U.S. military and for international military forces like the Italian air force.
An operational flight trainer, or OFT, is a flight simulator for general flight training as opposed to specialist tactics and weapons training. The flight simulator has a motion platform that enables realistic instrument flying (IF) and other procedural training.
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A part task trainer, meanwhile, is a flight simulator designed to train a member of the aircrew or maintenance staff on a particular aircraft task. Although less elaborate than an operational flight trainer, the part task trainer helps flight crew members train in avionics systems, weapons delivery, aerial refueling, and a variety of complex tasks specific to a particular aircraft.
CAE designed built the Italian air force's C-130J operational flight trainer and cockpit avionics part task trainer located at Italy's National Training Center (NTC) in Pisa, Italy. The NTC primarily conducts C-130J aircrew and maintenance training, as well as classroom.
Lockheed Martin, as the C-130J aircraft designer, acts as prime contractor on C-130J flight simulation programs with CAE serving as Lockheed Martin’s teammate and major supplier.
Lockheed Martin provides overall program management and operations as well as engineering services. CAE is responsible for the design and manufacture of the majority of C-130J training devices, including high-fidelity weapon systems trainers.
Related: CAE receives $34 million contract for Marine Corps weapons systems trainers
CAE operates a C-130J systems integration lab at CAE USA in Tampa, Fla., which the company uses to develop and test C-130J operational flight program block upgrades and modifications.
CAE performs C-130J simulator upgrades, training device maintenance, software engineering, configuration management, data management, and program management support. The company also performs obsolescence and technology refresh updates.
On this order for the Italian air force, Lockheed Martin and CAE will do the work in Marietta, Ga., and should be finished by July 2019.
For more information contact Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems online at www.lockheedmartin.com/us/rms.html, CAE Inc. at www.cae.com, the Italian air force at www.aeronautica.difesa.it/Pagine, or the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at www.wpafb.af.mil/aflcmc.
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