LONDON — Student pilots are set to use CAE-supplied H135 and H145 helicopter synthetic training devices as part of Britain's UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) program, the Canadian company announced.

CAE is supplying seven flight training devices and a command-and-tactics trainer for the rotary-wing element of the UKMFTS program.

Award of the synthetic training devices comes just two month after Airbus Helicopters was contracted to supply its H135 and H145's rotorcraft for the program.

UKMFTS is run by the Lockheed Martin-Babcock joint venture, Ascent, and provides fixed- and rotary-wing crew training for the British military in a private finance initiative deal, which runs until 2033.

The helicopter training devices are scheduled to be delivered to the Royal Air Force base at Shawbury, England, in 2018 to support ab initio flying on the Airbus machines.

The contract award, for which no value was given, was part of a package of three separate training deals announced in one go by CAE.

The other deals involved extension of in-service support of Canadian F-18 fighter and C-130 airlifter training.

Together the three contracts were valued at more than C$100 million (US $76.9 million), the company said in a statement.

Ian Bell, CAE's vice president and general manager for the region, said the latest deal meant the company was now set to provide synthetic training devices across the three main elements of the UKMFTS program.

"We will now be providing simulators and training devices for the fixed-wing and rotary-wing elements of UKMFTS, in addition to already having provided the Hawk [jet trainer] full mission simulators and tactical mission trainers used for rear-crew and observer training," Bell said.

Andrew Chuter is the United Kingdom correspondent for Defense News.

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