Flying F-16 fighter jets, Top Aces pilots will co-opt the enemy with the USAF in combat training for the next five years, a deal that could earn up to 230 million CAN for Quebec.
Posted yesterday at 4:10pm.
The world’s first private operator of this type of military aircraft, Top Aces has just won its first major air training contract with an opponent in the United States – the world’s biggest defense spender. Headquartered in Montreal along the Trans-Canada Highway, the combat training services specialist already counts the Canadian and German armies among its clients.
“These are years of investment for us,” says Erin Black, the company’s director of communications. It’s big for us. Maybe it opens the door to something else besides showing other countries what we can do. »
Top Aces’ F-16 fighters, which were purchased from the Israeli army, will end up at two bases: Eglin, in Florida, and Luke, in Arizona. Starting next month, they will be encroaching on the role of warriors for American pilots of the F-35 — the fighter jet built by Lockheed Martin and presented as the most technologically advanced — as well as the F-22.
For the company founded in 2000 by former military pilots, the decade marks the culmination of a long process. In 2019, the company was one of seven companies selected for a framework contract worth up to $6.4 billion. Top Aces managed to get a piece of the pie.
M says.I black.
If the decade allows Top Aces to grow, the benefits will be seen south of the border. On the two American bases, the company will need pilots, mechanics and engineers.
The United States decided to join the list of countries that outsource the role of adversary, reducing costs as well as providing more productive training hours for their pilots. In Canada, Team Top Aces were awarded a 480 million contract with the Canadian National Defense. Renewable, the agreement could reach 1.4 billion by 2031.
Top Aces currently has about 380 employees – including about 160 in Quebec – spread across Canada, the United States and Germany. The company’s workforce will swell thanks to this new contract. MI However, Black did not specify the size of the planned recruitment.
The company counts Caisse de depot et placement du Québec (CDPQ) among its shareholders. The stocking of Quebec’s woolen socks is estimated to be between 50 and 100 million, according to its most recent annual report.
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- 780 billion US dollars
- This is the estimated US military budget for fiscal year 2022
Source: US government