The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded Draken Europe a major new contract to support armed forces training activities.
Announced on 29 January and worth £173 million ($215 million), the deal will hone the UK military’s “ability to respond to missile attacks, air-to-air combat, electronic warfare, and attacks on ships from aircraft”, the MoD says.
The Interim Medium-Speed Operational Readiness Training Services arrangement was detailed at Draken’s facility at Teesside International airport in northeast England.
“Through live exercises with UK personnel over the North Sea, Draken private pilots will replicate the tactics and techniques of a range of adversaries,” the MoD says. This will in particular support squadron operations of the Eurofighter Typhoon and Lockheed Martin F-35B.
Additionally, the company will “train Royal Naval personnel to protect Carrier Strike Group assets from air and missile attacks, and train army personnel to quickly receive reconnaissance and intelligence information on enemy forces from the air”.
“To deliver the training, Draken will use 14 Dassault Falcon 20s, one Diamond DA42 and eight [Aero Vodochody] L-159E ‘Honey Badger’ jets based at Teesside and Bournemouth [in Dorset],” the MoD says.
The company in July 2022 launched operations with L-159Es from Teesside under an initial three-year Interim Red Air Aggressor Training Services contract, with its provision replacing the earlier use of Royal Air Force (RAF)-operated BAE Systems Hawk T1 trainers.
“Our partnership with Draken is of fundamental importance as we continue to train and prepare all of our frontline forces to meet emerging threats across the globe,” says Air Vice-Marshal Mark Flewin, air officer commanding the RAF’s 1 Group organisation.
“The training delivered to date, simulating adversary threats while also allowing us to train in a representative and contested electromagnetic environment, has never been more important to ensure the Royal Air Force is ready and able to support NATO and meet the threats of tomorrow,” he adds.
“Our purpose is to provide leading edge operational training to help the warfighter to be ready to fight and win,” says Draken Europe chief executive Nic Anderson. “Through this ground-breaking contract we will continually innovate to improve their training experience.”
The MoD says the new contract will support 200 jobs at the company’s Teesside and Bournemouth sites and in the Midlands.
“This investment will deliver world-class training for our armed forces and boost British business, jobs and national security,” says minister for defence procurement and industry, Maria Eagle.
Aviation analytics company Cirium also records Draken Europe as having six G-registered Britten-Norman BN-2 Islanders in its current fleet.
