3,000 Sorties per annum for Four and a Half Years

Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC), a Textron company, announced on 27 July it has been selected to provide two USAF bases with adversary air live training under the Combat Air Forces (CAF) Contracted Air Support (CAS) programme.

Under the awards, worth up to a combined $240 million, ATAC will provide adversary air live training to pilots at Luke AFB, AZ and Holloman AFB, NM. Worth up to $240 million (€205 million), the combined awards provide for over 3,000 sorties per year for up to 4½ years, which will be provided by ATAC’s fleet of MIRAGE F1 fighter aircraft and are expected to commence later this year.

The awards are part of an initial round of five operating locations the USAF has selected under the CAF CAS programme, with the service stating its intention to  contract for such services at up to 22 operating locations: 12 for adversary air and 10 for contracted close air support.

“With additional ATAC F1s and pilots coming online, we are well positioned to expand our flight operations and provide adversary training at additional bases and locations, as needed,” stated ATAC General Manager, Scott Stacy.

ATAC has pioneered much of what now constitutes the CAS industry, with a fleet of over 90 aircraft, over 60,000 flight hours amassed and 20 years’ operational experience.  The company has provided a wide range of CAS capabilities to US DoD in locations world-wide and has helped train crews from the USN, USAF and USMC. The company regularly operates out of as many as 25 different air bases per year.