Vanguard Magazine

32 APRIL/MAY 2026 www.vanguardcanada.com S I M U LAT I O N THE RCAF'S $11.2 BILLION T R A I N I N G R E S E T Canada's aircrew training system has been running on contracts written before most of the RCAF's new platforms existed. That changes now. T he RCAF is in the middle of a generational recapitalisa- tion. The training system pro- ducing the people to fly those new platforms has been run- ning on contracts written before most of them were ever ordered. The Future Air- crew Training (FAcT) program changes the equation. The old arrangement Until now, RCAF aircrew training has run through two separate contracted pro- grams. The NATO Flying Training in Can- ada (NFTC) program, which traces its con- tract to 1998, has been operated by CAE Military Aviation Training out of 15 Wing Moose Jaw since CAE acquired Bombar- dier's military aviation training unit in 2015. The Contracted Flying Training and Support (CFTS) program, run by Al- lied Wings out of Southport, Manitoba, dates to 2005. Both are winding down. Air combat systems officers and airborne elec- tronic sensor operators have been trained in-house by the RCAF throughout. One contract On May 28, 2024, the Government of Canada awarded a 25-year, $11.2 billion contract to SkyAlyne Canada Limited Partnership, a joint venture of CAE Inc. and KF Aerospace. FAcT replaces all three programs with a single training enterprise covering pilots, air combat systems officers, and airborne electronic sensor operators, along with maintenance, infrastructure, classroom instruction, simulators, and live flying. Training continues at the existing RCAF sites, with full operations expected to begin in spring 2029. Harrison Ruess, Head of Communica- tions at SkyAlyne, describes the philoso- phy behind the consolidation: "In com- bining the ab-initio training regime into a single program, it allows us to take a more unified approach to training and create a more consistent experience for students. Imagine students attending one university with three campuses, instead of three separate universities. Of particular importance is a new cloud-hosted IM/ IT environment that enables large-scale data collection and analytics, which will help drive improved training outcomes for individual students as well as overall program improvements." Where things stand Flying operations on the CT-102B Astra II fleet are now underway at Moose Jaw, enabling ongoing design and testing of The first RCAF CT-157 Siskin II (Pilatus PC-21) aircra is seen at the Pilatus facility in Stans, Switzerland following a successful first production test flight on February 26, 2026. Photo: SkyAlyne

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