SkyAlyne has signed a contract with airframer De Havilland Canada to acquire three Dash 8-400 aircraft in support of the Royal Canadian Air Force’s trainer fleet recapitalisation effort.
The joint venture of CAE and KF Aerospace was selected by Ottawa in May 2024 to deliver more than 70 fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft under the Future Aircrew Training (FAcT) programme – a deal valued at some $8 billion (C$11 billion) over 25 years.
Included in SkyAlyne’s winning bid were the Dash 8-400s, which will be used to support training of new airborne electronic sensor (AES) operators and air combat systems officers for the RCAF.
Now, SkyAlyne says it had finalised terms with De Havilland to purchase three of the twin-engined turboprops.
“SkyAlyne is excited to be able to combine a proven aircraft platform in the De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400, with our advanced airborne simulation solution for the Future Aircrew Training programme,” general manager Kevin Lemke said on 21 January.
The new turboprops will replace Canada’s earlier-generation AES training platform, which is based on the older Dash 8-100 series and operated locally with the designation “CT-142 Gonzo”. That fleet of four aircraft has been in service for more than 30 years, with original deliveries occurring between 1989 and 1990.
SkyAlyne says the new aircraft will feature updated avionics and larger cabins to accommodate “advanced airborne simulation training systems”.
Notably, SkyAlyne says the Dash 8-400s destined for the RCAF training fleet are new-build aircraft that are already assembled and currently in storage with De Havilland. That is significant, as the Dash 8 is currently not in production.
De Havilland’s parent company, Longview Aviation Capital, acquired the Dash 8 programme from Bombardier in 2019 and shuttered production in 2022 as global demand slumped due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, the company intimated last year that it was considering rebooting the Dash-8 production line with an updated variant of the venerable turboprop. Nearly 800 examples of the Dash 8, including some 400 Dash 8-400s, are still flying, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.
With the Dash 8-400 contract now inked, SkyAlyne has nearly completed the assortment of acquisition deals expected under the FAcT programme.
Separate agreements cover 19 Pilatus PC-21s turboprops, 23 side-by-side-cockpit Grob G 120TPs and 19 Airbus H135 light-twin helicopters.
A contract for seven Beechcraft King Air 260s is the only deal outstanding to complete the FAcT fleet. These will be used for multi-engined advanced flight training.
Ottawa is engaged in a separate effort to procure a new jet trainer, known as the future fighter lead-in trainer (FFLIT). That still-to-be-named jet will replace the RCAF’s fleet of BAE Systems Hawk 115 single-engined trainers, which were retired without a successor in 2024.
The new FFLIT jets will be used to train new RCAF fighter pilots assigned to fly the Lockheed Martin F-35A, of which Canada plans to acquire 88 examples to replace its ageing fleet of Boeing F/A-18A Hornets.
