On September 16, Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC) announced that the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have awarded it a new contract for its Mirage F-1, Kfir, and Hawker Hunter fighters to continue serving as aggressors in pilot training missions. The new agreement falls under the Fleet Combat Aircraft Services (FJS) program, representing both an extension of the company’s more than 20-year history with both institutions and a major investment by Washington amounting to $555 million over five years.
Expanding on some details of the agreement, it provides that the aforementioned fighters will operate between 6,500 and 7,000 flight hours per year throughout the duration of the contract, which takes effect this year and extends until 2030. The contract also stipulates that all ATAC aircraft will be crewed by expert pilots, both from the civilian sector and U.S. Armed Forces veterans who are highly familiar with the platforms. Broadly speaking, this is expected to sustain the ability to generate realistic training environments, while also reducing the burden on F/A-18 and EA-18 aircraft that were occasionally employed for these tasks.
In the words of Captain Jason Pettitt, Program Manager for the Adversary and Specialized Aircraft Program Office (PMA-226) and the AV-8B Harrier Program Office (PMA-257):
“The Fighter Jet Services contract represents a crucial investment in the readiness and capability of our fleet air training and certification programs. By leveraging contracted air services (CAS), we can provide our fleet aircraft squadrons and onboard operators with advanced training to counter emerging air threats, including electronic warfare operations.”
In addition, Rich Zins, ATAC’s current Vice President of Business Operations, stated: “We are honored to have once again been selected for another five-year contract in support of the Navy and Marine Corps (FJS), which extends our current tenure on this contract to more than two decades. We thank our customers for their trust, our subcontractors and suppliers for their unconditional support, and our employees, whose hard work, dedication, and focus on customer satisfaction are responsible for our past performance that enabled us to secure this contract.”
It is worth recalling that ATAC is established as one of the world’s leading companies offering this type of service, operating a fleet of around one hundred aircraft and with more than 110,000 flight hours to its credit. Its ties with the Pentagon are also extensive, considering the aforementioned 20 years of cooperation with the Navy and Marine Corps, which has taken it to operate from various U.S. bases around the world, including the distant island of Hawaii and regions of the Western Pacific. According to the official statement, its support translates into a presence at around 25 different bases each year, reflecting the scope of its role.
Finally, it is important to highlight that ATAC’s participation as aggressor aircraft is also accompanied by capabilities to provide maintenance to its platforms in coordination with the forces it supports. This entails deploying personnel to the various bases from which its aircraft operate, something considered a key factor in the contract, in line with CAS requirements.
Images used for illustrative purposes
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