Privatized Adversary Air Combat Training
August 5, 2020
Privatized Adversary Air Combat Training
With U.S. military services looking to alleviate shortages of
How are private firms involved?
pilots and publicly admitting shortages in readiness, the
As global air forces modernized over the past two decades,
Navy, Marines, and Air Force have begun to contract out
the wide availability of surplus third- and fourth-generation
some kinds of pilot training—specifically the live
fighter aircraft and high-performance jet trainers led to the
simulation of enemy aircraft. This trend, coupled with the
establishment of private companies providing “adversary
worldwide rise in available military jets as air forces
air” on a contract basis. Firms such as Draken International,
modernize, has led to the emergence of a new private
TopACES, Discovery Air, Tactical Air Support, and ATAC
industry offering adversary air combat training.
initially provided services to foreign air forces whose
smaller fleets did not permit establishing their own
What is adversary air combat training?
dedicated adversary forces.
Before the Vietnam War, American air forces trained
internally, with pilots flying against others in similar
The U.S. Navy and Air Force experimented with contract
aircraft using the same tactics. During that war, however,
adversary air in the mid-2010s and have subsequently
the United States learned a great deal about modern
entered into major contracts. From the military perspective,
adversary tactics and the capabilities of the (mainly Soviet)
these services offer U.S. pilots the opportunity to fly against
aircraft employed in that war, which often differed
a diversity of aircraft types without the overhead and
markedly from what had been experienced in prewar
expense required to maintain a fleet of planes not otherwise
training. To spread those lessons and train pilots more
in inventory. Particularly in the case of the Air Force, which
realistically, the U.S. Air Force and Navy began formal
has increasingly publicized a shortage of pilots, using
programs of Dissimilar Air Combat Training, or DACT.
contractors to provide adversary air may free up
experienced uniformed pilots for other duties.
DACT pilots were trained in adversary tactics of the time,
and flew U.S. aircraft that most resembled expected
Figure 2. A-4 Aircraft
adversaries in performance, painted in foreign camouflage
Operated by Draken International
to provide a more realistic image. Under then-classified
programs, the Air Force also acquired actual foreign aircraft
to better determine their characteristics.
The Air Force established Aggressor squadrons that
participated in large exercises and toured fighter bases to
provide realistic opposition during training rotations. The
Navy created adversary forces that flew as opposition to
pilots going through the TOPGUN senior fighter school.
Those programs continue to the present day.
Figure 1. Hunter, Kfir C.2, and L-139 Aircraft
Operated by ATAC
Source: Draken International.
There is some precedent for privatization of military
support tasks; the U.S. Navy has also experimented with
contract aerial refueling services. Many foreign air forces,
including Britain, have given up or significantly curtailed
their own refueling operations in favor of contractors.
Although contractor fleets were initially equipped with
(often upgraded) trainer jets and second- and third-
generation fighters like the F-5 and Mirage F1, they are
rapidly modernizing to include fourth-generation fighters
such as F-16s and F-18s, acquired from foreign militaries’
Source: ATAC/Textron.
surplus.
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Privatized Adversary Air Combat Training
The inaugural contracts
Potential issues
The Air Force was first to contract for adversary air
While relieving strain on uniformed units and freeing pilots
services. An initial contract with Draken International of
for other tasks, contracting out adversary air operations may
Lakeland, FL, in September 2015 provided services to the
present other issues for consideration:
Fighter Weapons School at Nellis AFB, Nevada, and was
seen as a trial for such arrangements. A subsequent contract
The cost of contracting all such operations for the
was awarded to Draken in June 2018.
Air Force is estimated at $400 million a year.
In November 2018, the Navy granted Tactical Air Support
Operation of DACT units in the military has yielded a
of Reno, NV, a five-year contract, worth approximately
cadre of experienced pilots thoroughly versed in
$107 million, to support training at Naval Air Station
adversary operations, who can be significant assets to
Fallon, NV. These missions are primarily aimed at
other units in times of conflict; contracting out such
increasing the readiness of naval air units preparing to
services could result in a loss of that knowledge, or
deploy to sea. That award was protested by another
potentially make it harder to employ in wartime.
contractor but upheld by the Government Accountability
Office.
U.S. DACT units benefit from the latest intelligence on
potential adversaries; it is not clear how much of this
In October 2019, the Air Force contract awarded indefinite
knowledge could be shared with contractors.
delivery, indefinite quantity contracts to seven adversary air
providers. This meant that those companies qualified to bid
Increasing the use of contracted adversary air operations
on up to 8,848 training sorties across six bases. The first
could increase the competition for experienced pilots,
awards under these contracts, on July 21, 2020, went to
which is one of the factors in the current Air Force pilot
shortage.
Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC), a unit
of Textron Corporation. The $240 million contract is to
Some of the major potential contractors have significant
support operations at Luke AFB, AZ, and Holloman
foreign ownership and/or are headquartered in foreign
AFB, NM;
countries. Most use foreign-made aircraft, although it
might be argued that this is part of the point of
Tactical Air Support, for $90.4 million, to support
dissimilar training.
training at Kingsley Field, OR;
A broader issue is whether military training should be
Draken International. Under their $74.5 million award,
considered an inherently governmental function, part of a
Draken is to provide services at Kelly Field, TX, and
long-standing debate on privatization that government has
Seymour Johnson AFB, NC.
addressed previously but is also currently evident in areas
such as air-to-air refueling services and logistics support for
The remaining contract, for operations at Eglin AFB, FL,
military aircraft.
has yet to be awarded.
In possible counterpoint to the contract adversary air
Figure 3. USAF Aggressor F-16
movement, the report accompanying the Fiscal 2020
National Defense Authorization Act included language
requiring the Air Force to report on the costs and schedule
for expanding its in-house Aggressor fleet.
Jeremiah Gertler, Specialist in Military Aviation
IF11612
Source: U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Christopher Boitz.
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Privatized Adversary Air Combat Training
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