Israeli start-up SimiGon has developed an advanced personal training system that it will supply to the US Navy, under the terms of a four-year contract. In the first stage of the deal,  the systems will be used to train US Navy F/A-18 pilots.

The deal was signed by one of SimiGon's strategic partners, Visual Training Solutions Group (VTSG) of the US. SimiGon's share of the deal is estimated at $12 million. $1 million of the systems will be delivered to the US Navy in March.

The rest of the training systems, worth $11 million, will be delivered over the next three years, in accordance with milestones stipulated in the contract between the parties.

SimiGon said a senior US Air Force officer wrote an enthusiastic letter to the company, stating, "This system provides our pilots with the safest and most successful training." The US Air Force bought the system a year ago.

SimiGon's AirBook system is a personal training system that uses knowledge, communications, and tool centers installed on standard PCs that connect military and civilian organizations with their members. Training is carried out through personalized teaching and experience, using advanced virtual reality technologies.

Several air forces have chosen SimiGon's system, including the US, Turkish, and Thai Air Forces. SimiGon has also sold a corporate jet flight system to America's JetLink Airlines, a sub-contractor for simulator designer Delex Systems, and avionics manufacturer Flight Vision. The company has sold an air traffic control simulator to Airliner AI of the UK.