The Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC) was founded in 1994 by retired USAF officer Jeffrey JD Parker, as a result of the cutbacks in aggressor training organisations in the US armed forces.

Initially operating two ex Royal Danish Air Force SAAB J-35 Drakens, six retired Kfir C2s were acquired from Israel Aerospace industries followed by four A-4N Skyhawks and 13 ex Swiss Air Force Mk58 Hunters. The latter are the mainstay of the ATAC fleet.

Flying daily around the world the Hunter has proved to be a reliable, safe and effective platform with predictable flying qualities, long endurance and high reliability. The Hunter and A-4 were, in the opinion of ATAC, “drastically over-engineered. They are incredibly strong and capable jets with minimal systems, and the ones that are in there are built very reliably. This allows ATAC to maintain very high availability rates.”

The Kfirs are the most maintenance intensive in the fleet followed by the Skyhawks, then the Hunters.

The ATAC fleet operates around the world with permanent bases in Virginia, California, Nevada, Hawaii and Atsugi, Japan, providing many services to the US Department of Defense. These include adversarial support to fighter pilots of the USAF, USN and USMC, air-surface missile simulation, offensive and defensive counter-air, strike practice, airborne electronic threat simulation, R&D support, air-to-ground combat controller training and strike fighter tactics instructor training. ATAC aircraft also participate in service exercises, carrier air wing work-ups and contractor defence programmes.

In 15 years ATAC grew from a two-aircraft niche DoD contractor to a leader in fast jet support services, much like Mat Potulski’s Hawker Hunter Aviation in the UK (see the August “Air Forces” magazine). How satisfying to us that the 1951 Hunter is still so very active militarily after more than half a century.