Go Train, We Take Care of the Rest

For Air Forces looking to ensure the most advanced and thorough flight training for new pilots, Elbit Systems is at the forefront of it all-offering an outstanding military pilot training solution designed to provide operational and economic advantages in today’s ever-changing world. 

With the company’s extensive experience in aviation services, avionics, simulation, and training, Elbit Systems’ military pilot training solution is a comprehensive and innovative approach to training the next generation of military pilots.
 

Training Around the World

According to Shai, Business Development Director of Flight Academies & Services of Elbit Systems, the Company's military pilot training solutions incorporate both airborne and ground training, aiming to ensure that pilots are fully prepared for any scenario they may encounter in the air. 
The customized advanced training provides cadets with an advanced training environment to allow them to attain the knowledge and skills they need to excel in their roles.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense has contracted Elbit Systems for handling several training fleets for the IAF – including the Texan T-6A basic trainer fleet and in 2016 Affinity, an Elbit Systems Joint Venture with KBR, was contracted to procure, operate and maintain the Beechcraft T-6C and other aircraft of the UK MFTS for the Royal Air Force. 

In 2021, Elbit secured a contract from the Hellenic Ministry of National Defense, under a G2G contract, for the establishment and operation of the Hellenic International Flight Training Center 120 ATW Kalamata, including a fleet of T-6A trainers.
 

One Stop Training Shop

Using flexible, cost-effective business models, Elbit Systems’ modern flight training approach allows its customers to focus on conducting actual training.
According to Shai, Elbit has several advantages in its toolbox, and one of them being a vast amount of knowledge and experience in the components that provides a full flight training package.

Elbit specializes in training (including synthetic simulators that provide pilots with environments that are exactly like the battlefield), maintenance, logistics as well as aircraft procurement and then integrating them into the package and solution.

"We are a one stop training shop," Shai emphasized.
Another advantage is that Elbit has tremendous experience in two of the most advanced training platforms used by leading NATO air forces-the T-6C and M346.

"When we put all of it together, screens, computers, helmets, the hardware and software in our simulators along with our pilots operational experience, we can definitely provide advanced training. And throughout the years, we promise an ongoing training development process with our customers," Shai said.
In addition, Shai said, "Elbit has many former pilots that know what current training criteria for military pilots are, and they bring their operational experience from the battlefield. They know what the pilot needs to have today, and in the future."

"Being a pilot in the Israeli Air Force makes one understand the heart of the service-what it includes, the components, the mentality, the expectations, how the operation looks like, and the level of the training that pilots need."

The Tremendous T-6C

One of the planes operated by Elbit is the Texan T-6C. The T-6C fleet is used by cadets during the basic training phase of the Flight Academy course. 
"We know how to maintain the T-6C and to keep availability of the platform because we are maintaining dozens of them and we've been doing it for so long. We know the platform; we know how to make it available every morning," Shai said. Tom Webster, Vice President Defense & Sales at Textron-Beechcraft Aviation called the T-6 "the world's most ubiquitous training turbo-prop aircraft."
According to him, learning to fly isn’t only about developing airmanship and the fundamentals of instrument and visual navigation, but about information and mission management. Student pilots who learn in the T-6C also receive a comprehensive suite with ground-based academic aids to help their training along with advanced simulators.

The T-6C, Tom said, is a user-friendly and forgiving aircraft to fly for student pilots. 
"Students who don't make mistakes are likely not learning, but when you are learning to fly you want to be able to rapidly recover from a mistake," he said, explaining that students need to carry out uncontrollable maneuvering or find themselves in a stall and learn how to recover. And in a T-6C, "you won't find yourself in a situation where you won't recover." 

"The T-6C is one of the best in terms of training," he asserted, adding that the T-6C "is a flexible, reliable, living, growing system of training. It is affordable and efficient."

According to Tom, there are 1000 fielded aircraft in 14 different countries and Air Forces. And the aircraft, which is software driven, is tailored to the needs of customers and can be upgraded as necessary.
"The user gets a group of tools, so if their training changes in the future, the software tools are already there. We will continue to evolve those tools with a goal of making them more capable for the future," Tom said.
 

Video Courtesy of Textron Aviation
 

New technology, New threats

As technology advances, threats continue to transform. And so has the way pilots train.

"It’s completely different. Stick and throttle now might be secondary to other activities that the pilot needs to do during flights," Shai said. "The world is changing as are platforms, technology and so are the threats. Instead of air forces dealing with offensive aircraft, they are dealing with drones, unmanned aerial vehicles, missiles and rockets. It's no longer a matter of flying hard in dogfights, it's managing a technologically sophisticated environment," Shai said.
"Technology has changed the spectrum of capabilities and new pilots need to be someone who can multitask and manage several highly sophisticated systems in the cockpit in real time."

According to Shai, in the past Air Forces believed that training in the air was paramount, and now, synthetic training is about 50% of the course. 
"Now we have synthetic systems that are mounted on real platforms and simulators (EVA) that can simulate while reducing costs," Shai said, adding that it not of reduces costly flight hours but it upgrades the training of the cadets as they can try maneuvers with no risk to the cadet. 

"We cannot underestimate the importance of a real flight, the cadet acts differently and that’s why we need real flights but training in a simulator has progressed so much in the past years that it's become more and more realistic so that the capabilities and technology makes the synthetic training much better than before," he added.

For Tom, the T-6C takes the lessons learned from the highly skilled customers and implements them to improve the aircraft. 

"It's a living growing system that continues to change, even today."