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23 / 05

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Advanced Training Systems International

In February 2004 we had a visit with Advanced Training Systems International (ATSI) based at Williams – Gateway airport, Arizona. This is the former busy USAF training airfield previously known as Williams AFB, in Phoenix.

ATSI Flightline at Williams – Gateway, AZ

ATSI had a vision that with tightening military budgets, there would be a requirement for civil operated adversary training for the USAF, and ATSI were one of the first companies to see this potential. Their foresight has been proved correct, as there are now many companies offering this type of service to air arms across the world.

ATSI purchased a number of Douglas Skyhawk aircraft to fulfill this adversary role. This choice made sense for a good number of reasons.

  1. The Skyhawk had proved itself to be an ideal adversary jet due to its small size and nimble performance and had already been used in this role by the US Navy and Marine Corps, including at Top Gun.
  2. The Skyhawk was a relatively simple jet to operate and maintain, compared to more complex modern types.
  3. There were a lot of very experienced aircrew and groundcrew in the USA who had worked with Skyhawks for many years, so there was plenty of relevant knowledge.
  4. There was a large number of unused Skyhawks stored in the desert available to provide spare parts.
  5. The Israeli Air Force was in the process of disposing of it’s well maintained and up-to-date Skyhawk fleet as it transitioned to F-16s.
ATSI A-4N Skyhawk

So, a fleet of former Israeli A-4N and TA-4Js was obtained, ready to provide adversary and other services to prospective military customers, and training commenced from Williams – Gateway, Arizona.

At the time of our visit in 2004, some of the aircraft were still being refurbished and modified for use, but there was a good number of Skyhawks available to support customer requirements. The aircraft were painted in two distinct colour schemes: a three coloured camouflage scheme favoured by Israel for use over their typical desert landscape, and a two-tone light grey scheme.

As a postscript to our visit, the vision of ATSI has been fully vindicated, as there is now a plethora of different companies who have contracts with various military organisations across the world. ATSI themselves were bought out in 2013 by Canada’s Discovery Air Defence Services, later re-named Top Aces, and some of the Skyhawks we saw with ATSI in 2004 are still flying with Top Aces today, see below.

N264WL in 2004
N264WL in 2022

In 2004 the ATSI Skyhawk fleet comprised:

N250WLTA-4JEx IDF 747BuNo 152853
N251WLTA-4JEx IDF 748BuNo 153500
N252WLTA-4JEx IDF 749BuNo 153672
N260WLA-4NEx IDF 321BuNo 158730
N261WLA-4NEx IDF 413BuNo 159533
N262WLA-4NEx IDF 444BuNo 159545
N264WLA-4NEx IDFBuNo 159823
N265WLA-4NEx IDFBuNo 159544
N266WLA-4NEx IDFBuNo 159534
N267WLA-4NEx IDFBuNo 159051
N268WLA-4NEx IDF 395BuNo 159530
N269WLA-4NEx IDFBuNo 159536
152868TA-4JSpares source
152878TA-4JSpares source
154614TA-4JSpares source
155102TA-4JSpares sourceAN3A0841
155115TA-4JSpares source
N265WL ATSI Badge N250WL A-4 wing fences detail N261WL N251WL Paul Valovich's jet, callsign "BOOGER" N262WL N268WL N264WL in 2004 N264WL in 2022

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