Evans &Sutherland (E&S) plans to lead a bid to build and operate a privately financed helicopter training centre for the Turkish armed forces.
A request for quotations is expected by year-end, says vice-president for business development David Janke. The centre would house simulators for the Eurocopter Cougar, Sikorsky Black Hawk and Seahawk and possibly the Bell AH-1W, as well as for the country's planned new attack helicopter.
The programme would be run along the lines of the UK's private finance initiative (PFI), under which the military pays for the use of training centres constructed and operated by industry. E&S has teamed with CAE, Raytheon and Thomson Training & Simulation, and well as local companies Havalsan and Transvero.
Turkey has been briefed by the UK, Janke says, and is prepared to sign the type of long-term contract needed if banks are to finance the project. The UK has signed five PFI training contracts so far: the Defence Helicopter Flying School, Medium Support Helicopter Aircrew Training Facility and WAH-64 Apache attack helicopter training system - for which E&S is supplying visual systems - and a Hawk training school and Tornado GR4 Synthetic Training Service programme.
Reflectone UK plans to open the first simulator centre built under the UK's PFI in January, when the Hawk training school at RAF Valley becomes operational. Initially the centre is equipped with a Hawk T1 cockpit procedures trainer. An instrument flight simulator and two dome weapon tactics simulators will be installed later.Source: Flight International
