Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 28, 2020	Jun. 30, 2019	Jun. 28, 2020	Jun. 30, 2019
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 643,303	$ 695,607	$ 1,260,556	$ 1,369,091
Cost of revenues	496,678	540,772	961,886	1,057,931
Selling, general and administrative expenses	105,451	126,438	242,777	261,474
Amortization of intangible assets	8,047	8,196	16,094	16,853
Total operating expenses	610,176	675,406	1,220,757	1,336,258
Program profit	33,127	20,201	39,799	32,833
Other income, net	1,168	5,958	1,954	7,678
Operating income	34,295	26,159	41,753	40,511
Interest expense, net	(13,757)	(21,617)	(34,705)	(44,277)
Income (loss) before income taxes	20,538	4,542	7,048	(3,766)
Expense (benefit) from income taxes	3,752	1,153	(4,961)	(1,994)
Net income (loss)	16,786	3,389	12,009	(1,772)
Noncontrolling interest in earnings of ventures	765	715	931	1,274
Net income (loss)	$ 16,021	$ 2,674	$ 11,078	$ (3,046)
Net income (loss) per share attributed to PAE Incorporated:
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.17	$ 0.13	$ 0.15	$ (0.14)
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 170	$ 130	$ 150	$ (140)
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	92,044,098	21,127,823	75,890,028	21,127,823
Diluted (in shares)	92,787,379	21,127,823	76,273,931	21,127,823