The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has awarded basic certification to Beechcraft T-6C military trainer, marking a significant step towards delivery for the UK Ministry of Defence’s military flying training system (UKMFTS) programme.

Beechcraft Defense, a subsidiary of Textron Aviation, secured a contract from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) in February last year to supply ten T-6C Texan II aircraft for the UKMFTS programme.

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The company will also provide support services, including engineering services, parts support, and maintenance training, while it will employ on-site field service representatives to provide ongoing technical expertise to the UKMFTS maintenance personnel.

Textron Aviation Defense president Tom Hammoor said: “Achieving EASA certification for the T-6C supports the progression of our contract with UKMFTS, and additionally opens up opportunities to provide a proven military training platform to the European market.

“This highly capable training platform, further enhanced with exceptional product support, equips our customers with a superior solution for a wide range of mission needs.”

Delivery under the contract will take place in the first quarter of next year.

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The new T-6C trainers will replace Shorts Tucano T1 aircraft of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and join the fleet of Beechcraft King Air 350ER turboprops.

"Achieving EASA certification for the T-6C supports the progression of our contract with UKMFTS, and additionally opens up opportunities to provide a proven military training platform to the European market."

An advanced version of the original T-6A, the T-6C military trainer features an upgraded cockpit that includes a head-up display (HUD), up-front control panel (UFCP), three-colour multi-function displays (MFD), and hands-on throttle and stick (HOTAS).

Additionally, the aircraft has been designed to perform advanced synthetic air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons training.

More than 20 countries around the world use T-6 aircraft to train pilots, navigators, and weapons systems operators.

The UKMFTS Rear Crew Training programme currently employs King Air 350ER turboprops for synthetic radar training.

Image: The new T-6C trainers will replace Shorts Tucano T1 aircraft of the British Royal Air Force. Photo: courtesy of Textron Aviation.

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