Personnel from several organizations were on hand at the Airbus facility in Donauwörth, Germany to inspect the first RCAF CT-153 Juno helicopter before its delivery to Airbus Helicopters’ facility in Fort Erie, Ontario where completion work will take place. In addition to Airbus personnel, representatives from KF Aerospace, CAE, the RCAF and the Government of Canada were in attendance at the event in October.
KF Aerospace and CAE formed a joint venture called SkyAlyne to bid on and eventually win a multi-year contract to operate the Future Aircrew Training (FAcT) Program that will provide both rotary and fixed-wing training to RCAF pilots-in-training.
Outfitted with Pratt & Whitney Canada PW206B3 twin turbines, the CT-153 is a variant of the Airbus H135 helicopter, originally known as the Eurocopter EC135 with roots in the Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) Bo 108 program. The H135 has acquired over 400,000 flight hours in military training roles with many of Canada’s allies.
A total of 19 CT-153s were purchased with deliveries to SkyAlyne expected to begin in mid-2026.
Images courtesy of SkyAlyne