The A-4 Skyhawk is one of a number of aircraft types that AEC Skyline-Top Aces will use to replicate high-end aircraft threats for the RNLAF. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)
AEC Skyline and Top Aces have been contracted to provide ‘Red Air' training for the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF).
Announced on 21 November the deal will see the two adversary air (ADAIR) contractors team provide ‘aggressor' training for the RNLAF from 1 January 2025.
“The AEC Skyline-Top Aces team will significantly enhance the training experience for the Netherlands' Air Combat, Air Mobility, and Defence Helicopter Commands under a proof-of-concept scheme,” the companies said in a joint statement.
As noted in the announcement, this award builds on the collaboration that was launched between Dutch company AEC Skyline and Canadian company Top Aces in early 2023, chiefly geared at providing enhanced training for the RNLAF's growing fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft.
“The Netherlands, like many other European NATO member countries, requires a highly sophisticated training opponent to challenge its F-35-equipped fifth-generation fighter squadrons. The same requirement applies to the RNLAF's helicopter and fixed-wing transport units,” the statement said, adding that the third- and fourth-generation aircraft types flown by the two companies in the ADAIR role are capable of replicating near-peer threat aircraft.
AEC Skyline operates GA8 Airvan, Aero L-39 Albatros, and Learjet aircraft, while Top Aces fields a range of turboprops, as well as Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jet, Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon, and Learjet aircraft. The A-4s and F-16s in particular will be used to replicate high-end threats, being equipped with active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars and infrared search and track (IRST) sensors.
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