Mission-Representative JTAC Training

Textron Airborne Solutions announced on 1 May that its subsidiary Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC) has been selected as provider of contracted air services for the US Navy’s (USN) Terminal Attack Controller (TACT) programme.

Training to be delivered under the indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract will be led by ATAC and will involve a team consisting of Textron Aviation Defense and Valkyrie Defense businesses. They will deliver live mission-representative training for Forward Air Controllers (FAC), Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTAC), and Forward Air Controllers (Airborne), using ATAC’s L-39 ALBATROS, Textron Aviation Defense’s Beechcraft AT-6 WOLVERINE and Valkyrie’s A-27 TUCANO.

“TACT is a marked increase in both the quality and quantity of JTAC training services demanded by the US Navy and Marine Corps. ATAC’s world-class team is pleased to provide the most mission-representative JTAC training solutions available,” commented Textron Airborne Solutions CEO, Russ Bartlett. “The Navy and Marine Corps flew the AT-6 during the US Air Force Light Attack experiments and are well-acquainted with its unparalleled mission capability and optimised battlespace networking capability,” added Vice President of Light Attack Aircraft and SCORPION, Brett Pierson.

ATAC claims to be the global leader in tactical airborne training, with a fleet of over 90 aircraft, having pioneered much of what are now contracted air services industry standards over the last 20 years. During this period, the company has amassed some 57,000 flight hours of operations, providing a wide range of contracted close air support (CAS) capabilities to US Department of Defense (DoD) JTAC communities in Europe, the US and the Western Pacific region. The only contractor that has operated supersonic fighter aircraft for the DoD, ATAC has helped train crews from the USN, USAF and USMC and regularly operates out of as many as 25 different bases per year.