Stolberg, Germany, December 19, 2019 – (NYSE: CAE; TSX: CAE) – CAE today announced that CAE Elektronik GmbH has signed a contract with the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) to provide the German Navy with a comprehensive training solution for the NH90 Sea Lion helicopter.
The German Navy is procuring a fleet of 18 NH90 Sea Lion helicopters to support search and rescue (SAR) operations and replace the venerable Sea King MK41 helicopter, which has been in operation for over 40 years for the German Navy. The German Navy NH90 Sea Lion training solution will be based near German Naval Airbase Nordholz, which is the home of the German Naval Air Command.
“CAE has a long history supporting German naval aviation training at Nordholz on platforms such as the Sea King and Lynx helicopters as well as P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft,” said Niels Kröning, General Manager, CAE Elektronik GmbH. “We are honoured to be selected to continue this longstanding cooperation with the development of a world-class training solution for the NH90 Sea Lion helicopter.”
Under terms of the contract, CAE will design and manufacture a suite of NH90 Sea Lion training devices for the German Navy, including:
- NH90 full-mission simulator capable of compliance to the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Level D qualification, the highest for flight simulators;
- NH90 cockpit procedures trainer;
- NH90 operational tactics trainer for training rear-crew tactical coordinators (TACCO) and sensor operators, and capable of networking with the full-mission simulator to provide full-crew mission training;
- NH90 winch and hoist operator trainer, which will also be capable of networking to other NH90 training devices for full-crew training.
In addition, CAE will construct an interim training facility just outside the main entrance to German Naval Airbase Nordholz and will provide on-site training support and maintenance services upon delivery. The new NH90 Sea Lion training system is expected to be operational by the second half of 2022.
“This contract award for the German Navy NH90 Sea Lion further extends CAE’s industry-leading position providing comprehensive training solutions for the enduring NH90 helicopter platform,” said Marc-Olivier Sabourin, Vice President and General Manager, Defence & Security International, CAE. “The German Navy will now join the German Army and other countries including Australia, the Netherlands, Qatar, New Zealand and others in partnering with CAE to provide the training systems and support required to prepare their NH90 aircrews.”
The NH90 full-mission simulator for the German Navy will feature a range of CAE’s core simulation technologies. These technologies include: six degree-of-freedom (DOF) electric motion system; high-performance vibration platform to replicate vibration cues critical to helicopter pilots; and a high-fidelity CAE Medallion-6000 image generator. The NH90 training devices will also feature the Open Geospatial Consortium Common Database (OGC CDB) architecture, an international standard for the creation of synthetic environment databases that has been adopted on a range of German Armed Forces training systems.
