Examining Opportunities to Provide Aircraft Services in Defence Markets

Aeralis and AirTanker have signed an MoU aimed at evaluating opportunities to offer an aircraft service in the light fast jet defence market.

Following the MoD’s recent award of a significant digital engineering services contract to Aeralis, the MoU with AirTanker will assess upcoming contracts in military flying training, as well as defence operational training and combat air support roles. The companies will examine models with the capability to transform the full spectrum of fast jet pilot training, enhancing efficiency throughout the training pipeline and ensuring customers receive the scale and quality of aircrew required to operate tomorrow’s front-line combat air systems.

The MoU covers a range of services that AirTanker can offer, including collaboration with overseas partners and establishing local service provision. It will involve the sharing of information and regular progress updates, as well as joint workshops to explore future collaboration opportunities. The agreement aims to use the Aeralis programme to achieve significantly lower financing, acquisition and operating costs for aircraft, compared to incumbent platforms, paving the way for enabling a wide range of ‘on-demand’ operational air support services as part of the future of air force fleets.

Aeralis CEO, Tristan Crawford, observed that the MoU marks “an important step in Aeralis going to market, not only with a transformational aircraft system but also with a disruptive aircraft service offering. In the coming years this will have the potential to transform the operating economics of defence light jet aviation, releasing sorely needed capacity and capability for military customers across a number of domains.”