The joint venture between Elbit Systems and Kellog, Brown and Root, has been contracted to support the U.K. Military Flight Training System.

The joint venture, known as Affinity Flying Services, is expecting approximately $713 million in revenue over an 18-year period. Elbit and KBR each hold a 50 percent share in Affinity.

The contract is part of the U.K. Ministry of Defense's wider UKMFTS contract with Ascent Flight Training Services, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Babcock International. Under that contract, worth over $1.57 billion, Ascent will provide training aircraft and ground-based training devices, such as simulators and classroom learning, for the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, and Army Air Corps.

As a subcontractor, Affinity will be responsible for providing new training aircraft along with maintenance and support.

"We are very proud to take part in such an important project for the U.K. MOD," Elbit CEO and president Bezhalel Machlis said in a statement. "The award of the contract to deliver this key programme for the UK's armed forces is a significant recognition of our proven ability to adapt and deliver innovative global solutions to meet the specific needs of the UK market and customer."

The UKMFTS provides elementary, basic multi-engine and fast-jet pilot training for both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft for the United Kingdom's airborne forces.

U.S. Coast Guard receives fifth C-27J aircraft
Elizabeth City, N.C. (UPI) Feb 4, 2016 - The U.S. Coast Guard's fifth regenerated C-27J Spartan aircraft was flown to the HC-27J Asset Project Office in North Carolina.

The C-27J is the latest regenerated Spartan aircraft to complete the Coast Guard's regeneration process. The Coast Guard has plans to generate a total of 13 of the aircraft under the program and use them to train and qualify air crews and maintenance personnel.

The regeneration work is performed at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz., by the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group. A sixth C-27J has begun the regeneration process, which involves extensive inspections of aircraft flight history and configuration.

The planes are then subject to functional flight tests before being certified as airworthy.

The Coast Guard plans to integrate 14 C-27s into its medium-range surveillance fleet to support disaster response, drug and migrant interdiction and search-and-rescue missions.

The Spartans, made by Alenia Aeronautica, are capable of reaching an airspeed of 290 knots, and have a range of 2,675 nautical miles. They are to be equipped with Minotaur mission systems, multi-mode radars, and night vision goggle capabilities.