UK engineering specialists, Dytecna, has been awarded a competitive contract from UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) through the Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) agency to provide three Part Task Trainers (PTTs) for rear crew training for the A400M Atlas aircraft. Britain has 22 A400M aircraft on order with the first aircraft due to be delivered in September 2014.

The PTTs will enable the Royal Air Force (RAF) to conduct specific to type training on loading, unloading and despatch procedures, cargo restraint techniques, aircraft drill and parachuting techniques for the A400M Atlas aircraft. This award is another major step in preparing for the new A400M fleet and follows on from the work already underway at RAF Brize Norton on the new Thales-Airbus Military training centre.

The devices will be located at the RAF’s tactical and strategic transport base at Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and will be used by the Air Movements School, 47 Air Despatch Squadron and the Airborne Delivery Wing to conduct advanced training for A400M operations. In addition Dytecna will provide in-service support for the devices until 2018.

This multimillion-pound contract builds upon Dytecna’s previous experience in delivering high fidelity C-130J fuselage training devices for the RAF and the US Air Force.