MONTREAL – Flight training company CAE (TSX:CAE) said Monday it has won military agreements worth more than $110 million including a one-year service contract renewal for the Royal Canadian Air Force’s CF-18 fighter aircraft.
The contracts announced Monday also include a deal to provide a suite of fixed-wing, advanced jet trainer aircraft simulators and training devices to meet the future aircrew training requirements of an unnamed customer.
CAE will design and manufacture a number of full-mission simulators that will each feature a high-fidelity replica of the cockpit surrounded by an 11-foot front projection dome display.
It will also provide integrated procedures trainers, an egress training device, an ejection seat training device and a range of other systems.
Meanwhile, the Montreal-based company won a one-year contract renewal from a subsidiary of L-3 Communications to provide a range of support services for the CF-18s including avionics software upgrades, integrated logistics support and data management services.
L-3 has been the prime contractor on the CF-18 in-service support program since 1986 and CAE has been performing systems engineering support services for the CF-18 fleet for more than 25 years.
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“The defence forces of more than 50 nations already use CAE as their training solutions provider and our customer base continues to grow as defence forces expand their use of synthetic training in order to reduce cost,” said Gene Colabatistto, CAE’s group president of military products, training and services.
“CAE’s advanced simulation solutions offer the ability to practice and rehearse dangerous mission scenarios safely.”
The contracts come less than a month after the Montreal company announced it was embarking on the largest cut to its workforce in nearly three years by trimming 300 jobs to help it cope with the impact of military budget cuts in debt-laden Europe.
The cuts amount to about four per cent of its global workforce of 8,000 despite growing revenues and profits.
About half of CAE’s workforce is located in Canada, including about 3,600 in Montreal and 200 in locations elsewhere in the province.
The layoffs are the largest since 700 workers were laid off in 2009 as part of its effort to trim costs amid the global recession.
However, CAE said in May that its pipeline of defence opportunities remains large as orders accelerate from high-growth regions like Asia and the Middle East.
CAE is a global leader in modelling, simulation and training for civil aviation and defence, employing some 8,000 people at more than 100 sites and training locations in about 30 countries.
On the Toronto Stock Exchange, CAE shares were up five cents Monday to close at $9.80.
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