Five Million Flight Hours Surpassed

Textron Aviation Defense announced on 12 October that it has now delivered the 1,000^th Beechcraft T-6 Texan II and the global fleet has amasses five million flight hours.

“The world’s most advanced global air forces and pilots trust us to deliver a great aircraft that enables them to make the world a better, more secure place. Our world-class workforce goes above and beyond to design, manufacture, deliver and support the world’s premier military flight trainer,” stated President & CEO of Textron Aviation, Ron Draper.

The global fleet of Beechcraft T-6 Texan II Integrated Training Systems (ITS) encompasses five variants, all manufactured in Wichita, KS:

• Leading the fleet is the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS) T-6A and T-6B aircraft — operated by the USAF and USN, respectively;
• The T-6C is an exportable military flight trainer;
• The T-6C+ is an exportable armed variant of the T-6C;
• The T-6D is operated by the United States Army.

“Together, our team has crafted an integrated training system that is the world’s most advanced, most sought-after capability for producing pilots — in particular, 4^th– and 5^th-gen pilots,” explained Tom Hammoor, President & CEO of Textron Aviation Defense LLC. “Our nation has relied on the T-6 for more than 20 years to train its flight students. Prior to that, the United States relied on the Beechcraft T-34 Turbo Mentor, the Beechcraft T-34 Mentor and the Cessna T-37 Tweet. That means that every pilot across the Department of Defense has learned to fly in a Beechcraft or Cessna aircraft for nearly 70 years.”

The fleet empowers global pilot capabilities across 13 nations and two NATO flight schools.

Additionally, the U.S. Air Force recently announced a 14^th nation will acquire the T-6C via a Foreign Military Sales programme leveraging 2021 and 2022 Building Partnership Capacity funds. The 1,000^th aircraft was delivered to Colombia.