AgustaWestland announced that CAE has been selected to provide synthetic training devices for the UK Royal Navy’s Merlin Mk4/4a marine commando helicopters. The contract is worth about $40 million. Twenty-five former Royal Air Force Merlin Mk3/3a transport helicopters are being modified, upgraded and transferred to the Navy under a separate $545 million contract awarded to the OEM early last year. They are replacing the Sea King helicopters that have served the Royal Marines for more than 30 years.
AgustaWestland conducted a competition among “several UK and international suppliers” before selecting CAE, which began providing the Merlin pilot training simulators for the RAF in the late 1990s. The Canadian company will provide two flight training devices, a flight navigation procedures trainer, and a rear crew trainer. They will be installed in a dedicated facility at RNAS Yeovilton and provide multi-aircraft and whole-crew training using augmented reality, which will further enhance the training experience for the rear crew, according to AgustaWestland.
Although the Sea Kings are being retired next year, the Merlin crew trainers will not be commissioned until late 2017, and not achieve full capability until 2018.
Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin UK will recive a contract worth $75 million to supply a synthetic training service for the Royal Air Force Boeing Chinook Mk6 fleet. The company will supply two flight-deck simulators, a rear-crew training device, and computer-based training facilities. They will be housed in a purpose-built training facility at RAF Odiham.
Commenting on both the Merlin and Chinook training contracts, Air Vice-Marshall Julian Young, director helicopters at the UK's Defence Equipment and Support Organisation (DESO) said: "although it can nevr fully replace live training, being able to create a wide variety of training scenarios can provide a more challenging, safer environment to help our forces practice."
