Supply Chain Spotlight: Top Aces

Babcock Leonardo Canadian Aircrew Training’s (BLCAT) supply chain stretches from coast-to-coast. Our solution to Canada’s Future Aircrew Training Program (FAcT) is combining international experience and delivering it through exceptional Canadian partners. We’re proud to work with such superior Canadian companies to deliver world class aircrew training to the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Our supply chain partner series will spotlight organizations contributing to BLCAT’s solution, discuss their roots in Canadian communities, and share how excited they are to support the next generation of military aircrew trainees.

Read the first profile in our series, starting with Top Aces.

With more than 100,000 accident-free flight hours, Top Aces Inc. and its subsidiaries (including Top Aces Corp. and Blue Air Training Corp.) provide advanced adversary air (ADAIR) and joint terminal attack controller (JTAC) technology and training to the world’s leading armed forces. It has the largest fleet of commercially operated fighter aircraft in active service and is the world’s only commercial owner/operator of the F-16. Top Aces’ mission-critical training enhances the operational readiness of combat forces by delivering real-world experience while creating significant cost efficiencies and extending the lifecycle of military aircraft fleets.

What excites you the most about contributing to Canada’s new Future Aircrew Training Program?

The FAcT Program will be the heart and lungs of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), tasked to train generations of military aircrew over the next quarter century. Without a strong, reliable, flexible, and efficient military aircrew training system, the RCAF will be unable to meet its national security obligations. As a proven provider of advanced contracted airborne training services to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), Top Aces currently provides a portion of this body of training to generate combat capable operational forces that are ready to defend Canada and North America, as well as Canadian values and interests abroad. We are very excited to expand our training support to a broader section of the CAF.

Top Aces is dependent on a healthy training system due to the mutually beneficial and symbiotic relationship between the two with regards to aircrew production. The FAcT program represents the initial step for RCAF aircrews as they prepare for their flying careers. Top Aces sees this program as an excellent opportunity to provide training and mentorship to an expanded segment of future RCAF aircrew leaders, using our cadre of highly experienced flyers in an environment where Experience Matters.

Tell us about your history working in Canada.

Since 2005, Top Aces has provided advanced contracted airborne training services to all branches of the CAF (RCN, CA, RCAF, and CANSOF). During that period, we have provided more than 100,000 accident-free flight hours of high-performance, high-complexity training using our contractor owned and operated ex-military fighter aircraft and business jets. The training services provided include Adversary Air (ADAIR), Electronic Warfare (EW), and Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) training.

Since Experience Matters when delivering high-performance, high-complexity training, our aircrew are hand-picked for their proven and demonstrated training and mentorship capabilities. The support provided by Top Aces has ensured our CAF teammates are prepared for deployments to real world operations, and we are extremely proud of our ability to replicate combat like environments to ensure that Canada’s sons and daughters return home safely.

What positive impact would the FAcT contract deliver to your community?

Top Aces is wholly committed to the success of the FAcT program as it is a core component of our company mandate which is to “prepare the next generation of combat leaders.” Top Aces helps train CAF team members throughout their operational careers as they prepare for increasingly complex scenarios. Additionally, as these flyers reach the end of their military career, they form the pool from which Top Aces will recruit in order to continue to support our military forces through the provision of the highest quality training. This self-sustaining cycle will ensure the future success of the RCAF and CAF and represents a sustainable model of aircrew generation.

Providing training and mentorship as part of the FAcT program would complement Top Aces’ Canadian success story as a small/medium business (SMB) that has distinguished itself as the world leader for advanced contracted airborne training services. With more than 100,000 contracted flight hours to date, Top Aces is a prime example of how small, innovative Canadian businesses can succeed in a defence industry dominated by large aircraft manufacturers through smart defence procurement strategies. With the FAcT program, Top Aces will advance from an SMB to a major player in the military flight training community.