Draken secures £173m Ministry of Defence deal to extend operations at Teesside Airport

Draken, the aviation services and technology firm, has agreed a four-year contract with the Ministry of Defence for adversary air training services, thus extending its operations at Teesside…


One of Draken's L-159E aircraft

Draken, the aviation services and technology firm, has agreed a four-year contract with the Ministry of Defence for adversary air training services, thus extending its operations at Teesside Airport.

Draken Europe’s £173 million, four-year deal with the Ministry of Defence will see the aviation services and technology firm provide high-end adversary training available for all three armed forces. The training will include simulated air-to-air combat, cruise missile attacks and attacks on ships from aircraft, as well as training the Army in how to receive Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) information on enemy forces in the air.

The training will be undertaken using the company’s fleet of 14 EW-configured Dassault Falcon 20s, one Diamond DA42 and eight L-159E Honey Badger aircraft, based at both Teesside and Bournemouth airports.

The agreement will extend Draken’s ongoing military training support for the RAF, building on the initial three-year Interim Red Air Aggressor Training Services (IRAATS) contract awarded in July 2022. As part of that contract, Draken opened a new hangar to house its fleet of eight Aero L-159E ‘Honey Badger’ ALCA aircraft. The company is actively pursuing additional Red Air training contracts and has recently signed a Letter of Intent with the Royal Netherlands Air Force.

The new contract forms Project One of the RAF’s wider Portfolio Mustang training requirement, and will provide Next Generation Red Air (NGRA) training services to the RAF for a period of up to 15 years from about 2028.

“Our purpose is to provide leading edge operational training to help the warfighter to be ready to fight and win. Through this ground-breaking contract we will continually innovate to improve their training experience,” said Nic Anderson, CEO at Draken.

Expanded presence

Draken, which acquired the former  Cobham Aviation in September, renaming it Draken Europe has maintained a presence at Teesside for over 25 years. In 2020, the company signed a long-term deal to continue its operations at the regional airport.

The partnership with Draken has been deemed of “fundamental importance” by the Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group, Air Vice Marshal Mark Flewin. He reiterated its importance as the UK continues to train and prepare front-line forces to meet emerging threats across the globe.

“The training delivered to date, simulating adversary threats while also allowing us to train in a representative and contested electro-magnetic environment, has never been more important to ensure the RAF is ready and able to support NATO and meet the threats of tomorrow,” he said.

Teesside’s evolution as a military and commercial hub

Speaking out on behalf of the airport, Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said the new agreement is “outstanding news,” as he said it demonstrates the importance of Teesside both to the regional economy and national security.

“The role Draken will play preparing our armed forces so that they’re primed to protect our great nation is essential. We want to see Draken expand its operations at Teesside and this is a huge boost to those aspirations,” he said.

Having started out as an RAF base in 1941, Teesside opened for commercial passenger services in 1964 and in 2019 returned to public ownership following a period of private operation. The airport has seen a series of notable developments in recent months. Willis Aviation Services has confirmed a long-term deal with TUI Airways to provide maintenance for the charter airline’s Boeing 737NG fleet at Teesside. Willis will also carry out in depth “C-Checks” on Jet2’s 737s. Meanwhile, ABL 1 Touch was also revealed as the latest tenant at the airport’s £200 million business park, and Airborne Colours opened its  new aircraft painting facility at the airport in Autumn last year, creating 40 new job opportunities.

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