Top Aces exhibited at Singapore Airshow 2026, held from 4-8 February, as it promotes its services to the Asia-Pacific region. This was the first time the adversary air services company had attended such an exhibition in Asia.
Now in its 26th year of existence, the company has a strong presence in North America and Europe, particularly in Germany, but it senses potential opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region too.
David Bradshaw, Director of Business Development at Top Aces – and a former Royal Air Force air commodore – emphasised his company’s safety record of more than 150,000 accident-free flight hours to date.
The company flies some 150 aircraft, including about 100 fast jets comprising Lockheed Martin F-16As (including ex-Israeli ones) as well as Douglas A-4N Skyhawks and Dornier Alpha Jets. Other types flown are the Bombardier Learjet 35A and turboprops like the Pilatus PC-7. The latter are useful for training joint terminal attack controllers, for example.
Aircraft like the F-16 are fitted with the company’s proprietary Advanced Aggressor Mission System, as well as an active electronically scanned array radar, an infrared search and track system, and Link 16 data link. This represents a very advanced package for air force pilots to train against in mock combat.
Bradshaw highlighted advantages of his company’s services. One primary benefit is that using Top Ace aircraft reduces wear and tear and flight hours on an air force’s own jets. It also saves them money, for the cost of flying Top Ace’s second-hand adversary aircraft is perhaps 25-30% of flying their own sophisticated, newer jets.
Furthermore, it frees up pilots to concentrate on their core “blue air” duties instead of having to play “red air” in training activities. In large exercises, for example, around 30% of aircraft and pilots will act as red air. By utilising Top Aces, it means 100% of pilots can train in their main role.
Top Aces uses retired pilots and maintainers, and they can replicate whatever platforms or forces a customer wishes to train against. As can be imagined, when customers outline the “dance cards” for Top Aces to represent, Russian assets are a popular threat for air forces to train against.
Last month the company announced it had won a follow-on ten-year US$490 million contract to support Germany’s Bundeswehr. In addition, Top Aces holds major contracts with the Royal Canadian Air Force and US Air Force to provide counter-air capabilities.
Top Aces had provided adversary air services to the Royal Australian Air Force from 2017-19 with several Alpha Jets. However, budget pinches appear to be the cause for such efforts to not extend beyond that.
Hopeful of further opportunities in Australia, Top Aces signed an exclusive teaming agreement with Milskil in Australia in March 2025 to promote fifth-generation training solutions for the Australian military.
Bradshaw said there had been “a huge amount of interest” from Top Ace’s participation at Singapore Airshow 2026. “Our business model proposal in terms of better training for lower expenditure still works in this part of the world, and we’re hopeful.”
by Gordon Arthur
