BAE Systems Australia’s Flight Training Tamworth facility has delivered 250,000 flying training hours for Australian Defence Force (ADF) student pilots.
More than 5,600 ADF students have graduated from the facility, the company stated, undertaking training on the CT-4B Airtrainer aircraft.
“This achievement is a credit to the skill and dedication of our experienced pilot trainers at Tamworth,” said Steve Drury, director for Aerospace at BAE Systems Australia. “Working alongside the ADF, we are proud of our role in preparing Australia’s next military pilots.”
The company also provides training services to the Republic of Singapore Air Force, Royal Brunei Air Force and Papua New Guinea Defence Force; in total, the facility has delivered about 360,000 training hours over almost 25 years.
“Our company also remains focused on securing additional work in Tamworth,” Drury added. “We are working hard to obtain new contracts in order to provide a sustainable future for our military flying training business here beyond 2019.”
BAE Systems will continue to provide the ADF with basic pilot training until the end of 2019. The federal government has contracted Lockheed Martin Australia to provide and support the new ADF pilot training system, with basic flying training to be delivered from RAAF Base East Sale.