The Finnish Air Force is to outsource its elementary pilot training to the defence and aerospace equipment supplier Patria. The announcement was made on Friday.
The move will not affect advanced training of fighter pilots on Hawk and F-16 Hornet jets. The current contract is for five years, with an option for a further ten years.
Patria Aviation is to establish a pilot training organisation in connection with the Air Force Academy at Tikkakoski, offering elementary and basic flight training according to the FAF's flight training syllabus for conscripts, cadets, and flight instructor trainees. Patria's organisation will employ 8-10 flight and theory instructors. The Finnish Air Force's Vinka primary trainers will be used for the flight training.
The contract signed on Friday is worth approximately EUR 25 million, for which the FAF expect Patria to produce around 3,000 hours of flight training annually. FAF staff who had hitherto been involved in elementary training will be moved over to work with the Hornet fighter-interceptors, increasing the annual number of training hours from 9,000 to 10,000.
