Private provider of adversary air services Top Aces is expanding its fleet of fighter aircraft in Canada.
The Montreal-based company on 5 December said a modification to its existing contract with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) will see the addition of Douglas A-4 Skyhawk fighters to the current Top Aces Canadian aggressor fleet of Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jets and Bombardier Learjet 35s.
The Skyhawk type will be introduced in 2024 using Top Aces’ Advanced Aggressor Fighter (AAF) configuration.
“Deployment of this aircraft will add advanced radar and tactical datalink to the [RCAF] offering,” the company says. “The AAF configuration better replicates current adversary fighter aircraft and will enhance the training of RCAF [Boeing] CF-18 pilots.”
The CF-18 is the Canadian designation for the F/A-18A/B Hornet strike fighter, which the RCAF currently operates as its primary combat aircraft.
The service maintains a 90-jet fleet of the fourth-generation fighters, according to Cirium data. That number includes 18 F/A-18s purchased used from Australia.
Two Top Aces A-4 AAFs will begin training with the RCAF in the spring of 2024, with the fleet expanding to four aircraft by 2025.
The aircraft will be equipped with Top Aces’ proprietary Advanced Aggressor Mission System (AAMS), which enables the integration of advanced sensors and communications, including tactical data link and an active electronically scanned array radar.
“The addition of AAMS is very significant because it integrates sensors and functions that replicate advanced adversary fighter aircraft,” says chief executive Paul Bouchard. “This latest enhancement will be particularly beneficial to the RCAF as it transitions to… the [Lockheed Martin] F-35.”
Ottawa intends to replace its ageing Hornets with 88 F-35As.
Top Aces adds the additional aggressor aircraft are expected to reduce demand for active duty CF-18s to perform adversary air duty.
In the USA, Top Aces operates the world’s only fleet of privately-owned fourth-generation fighter aircraft – Lockheed F-16As modified in the company’s AAF configuration.
The company ultimately plans to acquire 29 of the single-engined fighters, sourced used from Israel.
The US Air Force granted flight approval to the aggressor F-16s in August 2022, contracting with Top Aces for adversary air support shortly after.
