Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 29, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 617,253	$ 673,484
Cost of revenues	465,208	517,159
Selling, general and administrative expenses	137,326	135,035
Amortization of intangible assets	8,047	8,657
Total operating expenses	610,581	660,851
Program profit	6,672	12,633
Other income, net	785	1,720
Operating income	7,457	14,353
Interest expense, net	(20,948)	(22,660)
Loss before income taxes	(13,491)	(8,307)
Benefit from income taxes	(8,714)	(3,147)
Net loss	(4,777)	(5,160)
Noncontrolling interest in earnings of ventures	166	559
Net income (loss)	$ (4,943)	$ (5,719)
Net loss per share attributed to PAE Incorporated - basic and diluted (in dollars per share)	$ (0.08)	$ (0.27)
Weighted average shares outstanding (in shares)	59,807,549	21,127,823