CAE and AgustaWestland’s Rotorsim to train Norway’s NH90 aircrews

Sesto Calende, Italy, February 17, 2009 – (NYSE: CGT; TSX: CAE) – CAE and AgustaWestland consortium, Rotorsim, has signed a three-year contract to provide NH90 flight simulation training to the Norwegian armed forces. 

Rotorsim, equally owned by CAE and AgustaWestland, will offer initial type, recurrent and mission training for the Norwegian NH90 aircrews. The aircrew will fly Norway’s NH90 NATO Frigate Helicopter (NFH) from the new Fridtjof Nansen Class Frigates and the Nordkapp and Svalbard Class Coast Guard vessels.  The training will begin in 2011, once the Rotorsim NH90 full-mission flight trainer (FMFT) is operational. This contract represents the first NH90 third-party training contract for Rotorsim.

Rotorsim offers full-flight and mission simulation training at the AgustaWestland Training Academy in Sesto Calende, Italy. Rotorsim is the prime contractor responsible for the development of the Joint NH90 Training Program (JNTP) for the Netherlands Ministry of Defence. In 2011, Rotorsim will take delivery of one NH90 FMFT and an NH90 virtual sensor trainer for training rear crew sensor operators.  Following delivery of the NH90 training devices to the Rotorsim training facility, Rotorsim will deliver aircrew simulation training services to the Netherlands and now to Norway.

“We’re pleased Rotorsim is leading the development of the first NH90 training program for the naval variant of the helicopter, and equally pleased Norway has committed to train its NH90 crews at Rotorsim,” said Marc Parent, CAE’s Chief Operating Officer.

John Ponsonby, Senior Vice President – Training, AgustaWestland added, “We are delighted another NH90 customer has selected Rotorsim to meet its sophisticated training needs, using state-of-the-art simulation to enable the operator to maximize the capabilities of its new NH90 naval helicopters.” 

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$1.4 billion, CAE employs approximately 7,000 people at more than 75 sites and training locations in 20 countries. We have the largest installed base of civil and military full-flight simulators and training devices. More than 75,000 crewmembers train yearly in our global network of 27 civil aviation and military training centres. 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.http://www.cae.com/

About AgustaWestland
AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is a technology leader in its markets and has an unrivalled range of rotorcraft products designed to satisfy the requirements of commercial and military customers. AgustaWestland is also a major provider of training services in the helicopter and defence markets through the development and application of integrated operational and mission support systems. AgustaWestland delivers unrivalled mission capability to military and civil rotorcraft operators across the world based on a Service Oriented Architecture and Approach: with training as a high level component in guaranteeing overall increased performance in helicopter utilisation. AgustaWestland has its main operations in Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.  For more information please visit www.agustawestland.com

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CAE contacts:
Nathalie Bourque, Vice President, Public Affairs and Global Communications, (514) 734-5788, nathalie.bourque@cae.com

Trade media: Chris Stellwag, Director, Marketing Communications, Simulation Products and Military Training & Services, (813) 887-1242, chris.stellwag@cae.com

Investor relations: Andrew Arnovitz, Vice President, Investor Relations and Strategy, (514) 734-5760, andrew.arnovitz@cae.com

AgustaWestland contact:
Geoff Russell, Ph: +44 (0) 1252 386429, geoff.russell@agustawestland.com