The agreement between AERALIS and Babcock France outlines a delivery operating model for making different AERALIS aircraft configurations available to air forces as a service, including how this could support future flexible and affordable combat air support and training constructs ready for 5th and 6th generation Combat Air. AERALIS and Babcock will look to develop flexible solutions compatible with a number of current and future operational requirements, including using Babcock’s existing pedigree in both the UK and France to offer a response in support of March’s UK France Joint Leaders’ Declaration concerning Anglo-French interoperability of future air systems.   

Babcock France is currently under contract with the French Ministry of Defence to deliver both Advanced and Lead-in training assets, including aircraft and simulation. In this field, Babcock partners with Dassault Aviation in France to provide a complete system to the French Air Force delivering training to upcoming jet pilots and weapons systems officers. Babcock is also a lead partner in Ascent flight training, delivering flying training to pilots and air crew to the three services of the UK armed forces.

The list of AERALIS partners has continued to grow and this comes after an agreement was signed with France-based RED Air provider STDS in April this year, complementing AERALIS’s existing agreements with both AirTanker and Ascent flight training.

 Babcock Chief Executive Aviation and France Chief Executive Officer, Pierre Basquin said: “Innovation is key for Babcock, due to the nature of the critical and challenging operations we are delivering to our customers. Working with Aeralis, an agile partner with a strong vision for “out of the box” solutions, will help us to find the best platform for the future military flight training opportunities we have in Aviation”.