Rotorsim to expand with purchase of AW139 full-flight simulator

SESTO CALENDE, ITALY--(Marketwire - March 28, 2011) - Rotorsim, the consortium owned equally by CAE (NYSE:CAE)(TSX:CAE) and AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, today announced that it is expanding with the purchase from CAE's Military business of a CAE 3000 Series full-flight simulator (FFS) replicating the AW139 aircraft.

The new AW139 FFS, to be delivered in 2012, will be jointly developed by CAE and AgustaWestland. The simulator will be qualified to Level D, the highest qualification for flight simulators.

"The AW139 continues to enjoy great success in the global market for applications such as VIP/corporate transport, offshore, emergency medical services, law enforcement and other commercial and government roles," said John Ponsonby, Senior Vice President – Training, AgustaWestland. "Our customers require cost-effective, high-fidelity training for their AW139 initial and recurrent training, and the addition of another AW139 full-flight simulator will enable us to meet growing demand."

"CAE is a global leader in helicopter simulation and training, and with the launch of our CAE 3000 Series helicopter mission simulator, we are leveraging our technologies to offer both military and civil helicopter operators the same level of high-fidelity mission training previously found only in the highest-end military applications," said Martin Gagné, CAE's Group President, Military Products, Training and Services.

The CAE 3000 Series helicopter mission simulator features unprecedented realism for helicopter-specific mission training, including offshore oil and gas producer (OGP), law enforcement, corporate VIP and other operations. The simulator enables pilots to practice challenging procedures without risk such as low-level flight, confined area operations, autorotation and landing on platforms at sea. The AW139 FFS for Rotorsim will feature AgustaWestland-certified avionics and aircraft software combined with CAE core simulation technologies, including: CAE True six degree-of-freedom (DOF) electric motion system and high-performance vibration platform to replicate vibration cues critical to helicopter pilots; a high-fidelity CAE Tropos-6000 visual system; and a direct projection 210 degree by 80 degree extreme field-of-view dome display system.

Rotorsim was established in 2003 as a joint venture of AgustaWestland and CAE to provide classroom and synthetic training solutions for AgustaWestland AW109 and AW139 helicopter operators around the world. The Rotorsim training centre in Italy is located within the AgustaWestland 'A. Marchetti' Training Academy and already houses two CAE-built FFSs. These simulators feature CAE's revolutionary roll-on/roll-off cockpit design, enabling cockpits representing the AW139 and three variants of the AW109 to be used in the two simulators. Rotorsim also offers training on a CAE-built AW139 simulator located at CAE's North East Training Centre near New York City. Later this year, Rotorsim will begin offering training in Sesto Calende, Italy, on the NH90 NATO Frigate Helicopter (NFH). 

About AgustaWestland

AgustaWestland, the global helicopter company owned by Italy's Finmeccanica, is a total capability provider in the vertical lift market. Through its rotorcraft systems design, development, production and integration capabilities, its experience in the training business and its customer focused Integrated Operational Support solutions, the Company delivers unrivalled mission capability to military and commercial operators around the world. This expertise, backed by technological excellence and innovation, makes the Company a leader in a number of the world's most important helicopter markets offering the widest range of advanced rotorcraft available for both commercial and military applications. www.agustawestland.com

About CAE

CAE is a world leader in providing simulation and modelling technologies and integrated training solutions for the civil aviation industry and defence forces around the globe. With annual revenues exceeding C$1.5 billion, CAE employs more than 7,500 people at more than 100 sites and training locations in more than 20 countries. We have the largest installed base of civil and military full-flight simulators and training devices. Through our global network of 32 civil aviation, military and helicopter training centres, we train more than 80,000 crewmembers yearly. We also offer modelling and simulation software to various market segments and, through CAE's professional services division, we assist customers with a wide range of simulation-based needs. www.cae.com