Hélidax, a subsidiary of DCI and INAER, announces an extension of its activities to cover the armed forces’ training. In 2013, 400 hours for training crews from the 5^th attack helicopter battalion in Pau (5^th ATKHB) were performed on Hélidax EC120 aircraft, in the Calliope configuration.

These training missions continue in 2014 with the supply of EC120 CALLIOPE for the Army. The French Navy has also contacted Hélidax to organise training flights for its pilots based in Lanveoc, Brittany.

Hélidax, the first public-private partnership (PPP) launched by the Ministry of Defence in 2008, surpassed the 70,000 flight hour hurdle last spring thanks to the extreme availability of its fleet.

Hélidax implements a partnership contract that concerns the provision of helicopter flight hours, for 22 years, for the Army Aviation Academy. This contract primarily concerns the operation of modern aircraft including their operational maintenance.

32 of the 36 Hélidax’s aircrafts are available to the AAA trainees at the same time, every morning, and 100% of the assets requested by the academy have been provided. Since May 2010, Hélidax’s aircrafts have taken part in the training of over 500 trainee pilots from the different French armed forces branches (army, gendarmerie, navy and air force) as well as Belgian and Nigerian pilots and trainee instructors.

“We are very pleased to propose Hélidax’s services to participate in the operational preparation of combat pilots assigned to units equipped with new generation helicopters” declares General Patrick Tanguy, Executive Vice-President of DCI-COFRAS. “As the first public-private partnership launched by the French Ministry of Defence in 2008, Hélidax shows its relevance and we perfectly meet our customer’s, and especially our partner’s, expectations.”

About DCI

Created in 1972, DCI is an intermediate sized service company, in which the French government is the concurring shareholder. Culturally close to the Ministry of Defence, DCI offers outsourcing services to foreign countries, for:

•           consulting and assistance throughout the life cycle of armament programs,

•           training engineering, in the academic, operational and technical fields,

Lastly, DCI and its subsidiaries have been partners of the French Armed Forces for 10 years within the scope of service contracts and are endeavouring to extend their activities to European Union countries.

http://www.groupedci.com