Top Aces to bring A-4N Skyhawks, Alpha Jets to French Red Air training

Canadian adversary air training company Top Aces will deploy upgraded A-4N Skyhawk fighters and Alpha Jets in France to simulate enemy aircraft during military exercises. 

The aircraft will be supplied by Top Aces France under a contract awarded to a consortium led by French company SDTS, alongside Babcock France. The French Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans awarded the agreement through the Armed Forces Commissariat Service (SCA). 

The contract runs for an initial six years, with an option for a further two, and is valued at up to €450 million (approximately $504 million) across the three companies.  

Skyhawks, Alpha Jets and L-39s to train French combat units 

A Top Aces A-4N Skyhawk at the Royal International Air Tattoo in 2023. (Credit: Mike Burdett / Wikimedia Commons)According to SDTS, the A-4Ns and Alpha Jets supplied by Top Aces France will be based primarily at Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne Airport, allowing them to deploy to training areas throughout the country. 

The upgraded A-4N Skyhawk Advanced Aggressor Fighters will carry systems and sensors designed to replicate advanced airborne threats, giving French combat crews a more demanding opponent during exercises. 

SDTS said French personnel from all three companies will handle flight operations and maintenance of the Skyhawks and Alpha Jets, without detailing how those responsibilities will be divided. 

Babcock France will maintain and operate its upgraded L-39 Albatros jets from Dijon-Bourgogne Airport. Equipped with systems including Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver (ROVER) technology, the aircraft can exchange live video with ground controllers during training missions. 

According to Babcock, the combined fleet will fly up to 400 sorties and more than 1,000 hours annually from military air bases and civilian airports across France. The aircraft will operate alongside French Rafale and Mirage 2000 fighters, supporting missions ranging from visual-range air combat maneuvering to Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) training. 

The services will support the French Air and Space Force, French Navy and French Army. 

The award adds to Babcock France’s existing training activities for the French military, including the Mentor 2 program, a 17-year contract covering 22 Pilatus PC-7 MKX trainers scheduled for delivery beginning in 2027. 

Why France is outsourcing its Red Air training 

The contract follows a decision by the French Air and Space Force to shift some adversary training to private contractors rather than use its own frontline combat aircraft. 

The idea had already been raised in a 2022 French parliamentary report, which warned that fighter pilots were falling short of NATO’s annual flying-hour standard. The report recommended establishing a dedicated Red Air fleet, either using retiring Mirage 2000 fighters or aircraft operated by private contractors. 

Testifying before the National Assembly’s defense committee on October 5, 2023, General Stéphane Mille, then the service’s chief of staff, said it had decided to outsource the role “at least temporarily” as its aging Alpha Jets approached retirement. 

Mille argued that Rafale pilots would be better employed preparing for high-intensity operations than flying missions as simulated adversaries. Outsourcing certain training tasks would allow the service to concentrate its personnel and combat aircraft on their primary missions. 

Top Aces expands European adversary training operations 

Top Aces described the French agreement as its second long-term contract with a European NATO ally in 2026. 

On January 19, 2026, the company announced the renewal of a 10-year contract worth up to €420 million (approximately US$470 million) with the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr. 

The Montreal-based company is among a small group of contractors operating privately owned combat aircraft fleets for adversary training. In the United States, it flies former Israeli F-16 fighters as aggressors for the US Air Force.The post Top Aces to bring A-4N Skyhawks, Alpha Jets to French Red Air training appeared first on AeroTime.

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