MILITARY SIMULATOR CENSUS 2020
ANALYSIS fleets. They are now in use at Offutt AFB, Nebraska, and RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire.
FlightGlobal’s Military Simulator Census shows there are 2,789 instructional devices in operational use around the globe, across our qualifying categories.
Also listed as a recent delivery is a Thales Reality H Level D full-flight simulator for the new Helisim Simulation Center in Grand Prairie, Texas. This will train pilots for operations with the Airbus Helicopters’ H145T2.
The USA is by far the dominant customer for simulationbased training equipment, accounting for 54% of all listed devices: some 1,515 units. By contrast, second-ranked France has 145 devices and just a 5% share, followed by the UK, with 98 (4%).
Despite the unravelling global coronavirus pandemic, new business announced during the first three-quarters of 2020 included an award for CAE to perform avionics updates on an E-3A flightdeck simulator and FTD for the NATO AWACS force at Geilenkirchen air base in Germany.
CAE is the world’s largest provider of military simulators, with our data showing that the company has supplied 20% of all listed equipment in use: some 556 devices. L3Harris is in second place, with an 18% stake (506 units), trailed by Boeing (11%/303), FlightSafety International (FSI; 10%/288) and Thales (9%/241). The remaining 32% share, representing 895 devices, is spread between other suppliers.
BAE Systems in July selected CAE’s Medallion MR visual system for use with the full-mission simulators to be delivered to Qatar in support of Doha’s future Eurofighter Typhoon fleet.
Information received from the leading manufacturers shows that new equipment delivered in the first nine months of 2020 included four devices that are now supporting the US Air Force’s Boeing 707-based E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft fleet in Oklahoma City. CAE and L3Harris each delivered a single flight training device, while the former also shipped a pair of operational flight trainers featuring its Medallion visual system.
Lockheed Martin selected CAE USA to support the design and production of a trio of FMS for the Air Force Special Operations Command’s EC-130J electronic warfare aircraft and MC-130J combat tankers. FSI, meanwhile, was selected to provide equipment and instructional services in support of the US Navy’s incoming fleet of TH-73A training helicopters. Under the deal, the company will, from 2021, deliver 18 flight simulation training devices, along with image generators, visual databases, projectors and two central control stations. Leonardo
L3Harris also handed over one OFT each to the USAF and UK Royal Air Force, as part of an upgrade programme affecting their Boeing RC-135 Rivet Joint intelligence-gathering
Market share by military simulator manufacturer
Military simulator share by aircraft manufacturer
Military simulator share by country
22%
20%
31%
32%
54%
44% 18%
16%
9% 11%
10% CAE
L3Harris
Boeing
FSI
Thales
5% Other
6%
3% 3% 4%
7%
Lockheed Martin Boeing Beechcraft Airbus Helicopters Other
5% Sikorsky
USA
France
UK
Russia
Canada
Other
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