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2019-02-01

L3 Bags F-16 Pilot Training Deal

L3 Technologies has been selected by the U.S. Air Force as the prime contractor for the F-16 Simulators Training Program (STP) worth US$350 million.

The F-16 STP contract consolidates the previous F-16 Mission Training Center (MTC), F-16 Weapons and Tactics Trainer (WTT) Advanced Sustainment, and F-16 Training System (TS) programs into a single, unified programme.

“For more than four decades L3 has proudly developed pilots and expert technicians in support of U.S. Air Force F-16 weapons system operations,” said Christopher E. Kubasik, L3’s Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President.

Now in a prime contractor role, L3 was the incumbent on two of the three predecessor programmes to the F-16 STP, including the F-16 MTC and F-16 TS. The company was awarded the F-16 MTC in 2008 through a competitive procurement.

“By combining three different programmes, F-16 STP will enable the U.S. Air Force to provide a more cost-effective approach to maintaining concurrency for the warfighter,” Mike Swanger, Program Manager, F-16 Simulators, U.S. Air Force.

“Our international allies will have the opportunity to benefit from our expertise in their own countries,” added Lenny Genna, President of L3 Link Training & Simulation. “We are proud to build on our long-standing partnership with the Air Force and look forward to being a key provider of F-16 training systems and services for many years to come.”

Insight into Tech Employed

L3 Link F-16 trainers are designed to support both local- and wide-area networking, enabling multiple simulators to participate in a combined exercise scenario.

Multi-tier commonality is a key value driver in L3 Link F-16 trainer technology, simplifying upgrades to maintain concurrency and lowering the overall cost of ownership. Also, L3 Link’s HD World combines high-definition displays, image generators, databases and physics processing technology for highly realistic and relevant F-16 fighter training environments.

Its Aerodynamic model is based on actual flight test data and computational fluid dynamics. Plus, the L3 Link Night Vision Training System—a 360-degree near-eye-limiting visual system provides the ability for pilots to bring in their NVG for simulated NVG training. Also, L3 Link’s F-16 SimuStrike technology, a highly cost-effective tactical training solution complements F-16 full mission trainers.

Training Center

L3 Link’s F-16 Mission Training Center (MTC) is designed to support aggressive, contemporary mission training events to the highest levels of interoperability standards. The MTC’s F-16 Common Configuration Implementation Program (CCIP) for Block 40/42 And 50/52 pilot training leverages a full range of pilot-proven and time-tested mission simulator and training systems to keep warfighters sharp.

The MTC supports full training task list (TTL) compliance at all levels, including modelling for all F-16 CCIP weapons systems, subsystems and ordinance, from single-ship mode to scalable multi-ship training.

Since 1986, L3 has provided the U.S. Air Force with state-of-the-art, high-fidelity F-16 training systems at both domestic and overseas locations. The company simultaneously ensures that the training systems remain concurrent with the fielded aircraft configurations to ensure the highest-quality training. L3’s training systems support maintainers and aircrews across the globe.

L3 Link has a long history of supporting foreign air forces through FMS and Direct Commercial Contracts. The product line has ongoing FMS programmes with Denmark, Egypt, Greece, Iraq, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Taiwan and Turkey.

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