Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 26, 2021	Sep. 27, 2020	Sep. 26, 2021	Sep. 27, 2020
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 689,514	$ 666,240	$ 2,185,279	$ 1,926,795
Cost of revenues	511,852	512,877	1,643,470	1,474,763
Selling, general and administrative expenses	140,170	119,168	428,237	361,945
Amortization of intangible assets	12,630	8,047	37,476	24,141
Total operating expenses	664,652	640,092	2,109,183	1,860,849
Program profit	24,862	26,148	76,096	65,946
Other operating income, net	1,174	2,384	6,897	4,338
Operating income	26,036	28,532	82,993	70,284
Interest expense, net	(13,109)	(13,607)	(38,783)	(48,312)
Other income, net	16,399	5,000	17,533	15,645
Income before income taxes	29,326	19,925	61,743	37,617
Expense (benefit) from income taxes	1,495	4,194	6,730	(1,582)
Net income	27,831	15,731	55,013	39,199
Noncontrolling interest in earnings of ventures	(1,958)	413	(2,510)	1,344
Net income attributed to PAE Incorporated	$ 29,789	$ 15,318	$ 57,523	$ 37,855
Net income per share attributed to PAE Incorporated:
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.32	$ 0.17	$ 0.62	$ 0.47
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.31	$ 0.16	$ 0.60	$ 0.46
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	93,122,414	92,070,306	92,949,301	81,323,258
Diluted (in shares)	95,836,986	93,392,565	95,599,019	82,115,825