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PARTNERING FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION in both cases the ability to create an
Centre (JMSC) for one of the GCC twin promises to deliver game-chang-
countries. This will enable command- ing capabilities for the whole of a
ers and operators from the Army, Air government. CAE in the Middle East is
Force, Navy and Staff Colleges to use a local company with a global reach to
constructive simulation capabilities to help bring the most leading-edge tech-
conduct military training from the tac- nologies to help our military customers
tical to strategic level of operations. In achieve mission readiness.
Oman, we are supporting the creation
and establishment of the Oman Aviation CAE has been focusing pri-
Academy to train and supply pilots for marily on training and is now
transforming to leverage digital
both the civil and military sectors in technologies for training as well
interconnected and high-fidelity digital [ IDEX SHOW PREVIEW ]
Oman and the surrounding region. As as for operational support. How
well, we are developing a comprehen- is this beneficial to the countries
sive NH90 helicopter training solution in the Middle East?
for the Qatar Emiri Air Force, and under CAE is investing over C$1 billion in R&D
subcontract to BAE Systems, we will be as part of a program called Project
providing our new state-of-the-art CAE Digital Intelligence that will revolu-
Medallion MR e-Series visual solution tionize training and mission support
CAE Middle East oversees a substan- for Qatar’s Eurofighter Typhoon sim- in defence and security, civil aviation,
tial amount of defence and security ulators. and healthcare with digital innovations.
activities for the firm in the Middle Middle East countries, while preparing
East. The company is striving towards What are some of the most for the post-oil era, are now leading in
establishing key partnerships with recent innovations? the adoption of artificial intelligence and
several local companies in the UAE to Through our digital transformation, overall digitalisation through proactive
pursue training sustainment services CAE has launched several new inno- investment strategies. CAE’s strategy is
and offset opportunities in the Middle vations in the past two years. As part not only to cooperate with its custom-
East. "My vision is to invest and grow of the CAE Trax Academy, we intro- ers and partners in the Middle East, but
our business in this region by 2025 to duced CAE Rise (Real-time Insights most importantly, to co-innovate and
better support our customers,” Thibaut and Standardized Evaluations), which co-invest with its Middle Eastern part-
Trancart, Managing Director, CAE is a data-driven training system for pilot ners. Such innovation will be fostered
Middle East told Atul Chandra ahead training. This tool uses big data to ana- around three Centres of Excellence
of the IDEX and NAVDEX 2021. “With lyze student performance objectively in the region: naval training, remotely
our headquarters in the UAE, we will and help instructors improve training. piloted vehicles and mission and oper-
soon expand by establishing compa- Also, part of the CAE Trax Academy ations support.
nies in Saudi Arabia and Qatar to give is the CAE Sprint Virtual Reality (VR)
us a local presence,” he says. trainer. It includes a virtual reality head- It is also fair to say that COVID-19
set, haptics, physical flight controls and has accelerated the need for digital
Edited Excerpts from the Interview.
the CAE Medallion image generator to transformation. In just the last two
What are some of the key deliver a high-fidelity and realistic vir- years, we have seen the emergence
programs in the UAE and tual environment. The CAE Sprint VR of recent innovations that were born
throughout the Middle East? trainer is available at our office in Abu out of our Project Digital Intelligence
CAE is designing and delivering the Dhabi as a customer demonstrator and R&D initiatives. One of these new inno-
UAE Naval Training Centre (NTC) for will be featured at our stand (Hall 1 #01- vations is the CAE Trax Academy; a
the UAE Navy. As we approach comple- A21) during IDEX. pilot training continuum that delivers
tion, the training centre will be equipped faster, better and more efficient pilot
with a range of integrated ship sim- Another digitally immersive solution we throughput. With advancements in
ulation-based training suites, as well introduced is the CAE MAVRC (Mission artificial intelligence, data analytics,
as maritime aircraft sensor stations Augmented Virtual Reality/Rear Crew) cloud-computing, virtual/augmented/
enabling individual, team, whole-ship trainer which leverages mixed reality mixed reality, and cybersecurity, CAE
and collective/joint mission training. to create an incredibly immersive rear is leveraging these technologies to
The UAE NTC will be one of the world’s crew training solution. Finally, we are improve training delivery and mission
most advanced naval training facilities involved in developing some trans- support. Our own transformation into
and a real showcase for the UAE Navy. formative operational solutions that the digital space is aligned with the
For the UAE Air Force, we are delivering leverage synthetic environments for region’s aim for innovation and digital
comprehensive training on the RQ-1E planning, analysis and decision sup- transformation. These technologies are
remotely piloted aircraft (RPA). We are port. We are doing this currently for game changers to help train military
also nearing completion of helicopter customers such as the UK Strategic forces more efficiently and effectively
simulators for the UAE Joint Aviation Command under a program called the and provide decision-makers the tools
Command. We are under contract to Single Synthetic Environment and US they need to make timely and better-in-
develop a Joint Multinational Simulation Special Operations Command, where formed decisions.
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