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13 November 2024
UK-headquartered Babcock has been chosen
as the preferred bidder for France’s tri-service Mentor2 pilot training programme.
Disclosing the selection in its half-year results on 13 November 2024,
Babcock says the 15-year, €800 million ($848 million) contract
will be awarded before the end of its current financial year in April 2025.
It was notified of the selection by France’s DGA military procurement agency earlier “this week”, it says.
The contract “covers initial training
before pilots specialise in either fighter pilot training, transport pilot or helicopter pilot training”.
Paris is looking to acquire 22 trainers, plus three for use by the DGA,
to replace the existing training provided on Cirrus SR20s and Grob Aircraft G120As
at Salon de Provence and Cognac air bases, respectively.
These aircraft are made available made under a deal with the Airbus Flight Academy.
It is unclear if Babcock has selected an aircraft for the requirement, however.
Contenders include the new
Diamond Aircraft Dart-750,
Grob Aircraft France TPX Cobra, and
Pilatus’s new-generation PC-7 MKX.
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