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Computer networks will be improved and the Air Combat Manoeuvering Instrumentation (ACMI) System will be upgraded, he added.

The ACMI system is capable of simulating air-to-air, air-to-surface, and surface-to-air weapons employment with real-time monitoring capabilities as they relate to actual aircraft position. The ACMI system was developed by Cubic Global Defense and first installed in 1982, according to the RCAF. It was upgraded in 2003.

There are two main components of an ACMI system: the instrumentation pods and the tactical display system. The mobile pods contain the avionics that track and record aircraft events and position. The display system allows its users to control, track, and monitor the exercise as it happens, and provide mission debriefs upon completion, according to the RCAF.

“We want to make (the systems) more robust, better connected,” Doyle said. “That is something we can benefit from on a daily basis” in addition to improving future Maple Flags.

“Threats are evolving and modernizing,” Doyle explained. “We want to make sure we’re on that leading edge.”

He declined to get into specifics about various threats air crews are facing but Doyle did highlight the development of integrated air defence systems that some nations are putting in place.

Some social media posts have indicated the Maple Flag postponement was due to a lack of Canadian pilots and fighter jets or delays in Canada receiving new aircraft. But Doyle said such claims don’t reflect reality. “Do we have shortages? Sure. But this in no shape or way has anything to do with that,” he added.

Officials at Cold Lake have been advocating for several years for the improvements so as to continue to attract allied nations to Maple Flag and to keep the RCAF’s own training regime up to date.