USA – The U.S. Army has awarded the Flight School Next contract to M1 Support Services L.P. of Denton, Texas — a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a combined cumulative total face value of $10 billion and a potential period of performance of up to 26 years — to modernise Initial Entry Rotary-Wing training for 800 to 1,500 Army pilots annually at Fort Rucker, Alabama, using a contractor-owned, contractor-operated (COCO) solution.

Flight School Next will provide Initial Entry Rotary-Wing training for 800 to 1,500 Army pilots annually using a contractor-owned, contractor-operated (COCO) solution at Fort Rucker, Alabama.
The contract has a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity structure with a combined cumulative total face value of $10 billion and a potential period of performance of up to 26 years.
The first task order will support the contractor's transition and is expected to cover a three- to four-year period.
The acquisition was executed using a Commercial Solutions Opening approach, enabling the Army to leverage commercial innovation and proven industry capabilities.
M1 Support Services will provide aircraft, maintenance, simulators, flight and academic instruction, and related support services; the Army retains oversight of training standards, safety requirements, and operational outcomes.
The U.S. Army's Initial Entry Rotary-Wing Flight Training programme has produced aviators for more than 50 years at the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker, currently training approximately 1,250 new aviators annually.
Flight School Next consolidates multiple existing contracts into a single enterprise framework focused on producing proficient aviators more efficiently and effectively.
The programme covers foundational aviation skills, safe aircraft operation under visual and instrument flight conditions, terrain flight proficiency, navigation, and tactical mission planning capabilities.
The modernization is designed to support Army Aviation requirements through Army 2030 and beyond.

Statements

"Flight School Next delivers a critical improvement in our Initial Entry Rotary Wing Training model. Simply put, it delivers new military helicopter pilots with far better foundational skills. The fact that it delivers this increased capability at a significant long-term savings to our Army is a great added benefit," said Maj. Gen. Clair A. Gill, Commanding General of the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence.
"This is a major step forward in modernizing how we train our aviation force. Flight School Next delivers the next generation of training capabilities our aviators need to succeed in increasingly complex operational environments," said the Honorable Brent G. Ingraham, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology.
"By partnering with industry and leveraging a streamlined aircraft fleet and fully integrated modern training system, Flight School Next ensures we will continue producing highly capable aviators prepared to dominate the future fight," said Maj. Gen. Gill.

Source: U.S. Army

U.S. Army Awards 2026 Contract to Modernise Rotary-Wing Aviator Training with Long-Term Contractor Solution

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