Thales has announced the successful delivery and entry into service of an FNPT II (Flight and Navigation Procedures Trainer) simulator for the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) for the purposes of initial pilot training. The simulator was delivered to Gading Kasturi and has been in operation since December.

It is the first flight simulation contract won by Thales in the Malaysian market. Thales partnered with a French SME, 6MOUV, a specialist in tailored flight simulation solutions.

The flight and navigation training simulator for H120 helicopters complements current RMAF facilities, which offer training on real helicopters, while meeting pilots' specific needs in terms of flight procedure training.

Besides reducing costs and limiting the environmental impact, the new simulator enables trainee pilots to be trained in normal procedures such as navigation, instrument flight and in handling failures as well as various emergency procedures which cannot be easily accomplished on a real helicopter.

The visual database provided with the simulator is adapted to training needs within the Malaysian environment. Flight training, provided by the Malaysian company Gading Kasturi, takes place at the Royal Air Force College in Alor Setar, the capital of Kedah state.

Gading Kasturi has reportedly been contracted to manage and operate a fleet of five H120 helicopters for the RMAF, the first of which was delivered in December 2015.