The Japanese Ministry of Defense (JMOD) has selected the Beechcraft T-6C Texan II from Textron Aviation Defense, together with the associated ground training equipment, for the future basic training of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). The T-6C Texan II will replace the Fuji T-7 training aircraft, which has been in service since 2002.
Competitors were the Turkish Hurkus trainer from Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), which did not meet the requirements and was eliminated in the first round of evaluation, and the Pilatus PC-7 MKX, which was recently selected by the Netherlands. Although the Swiss trainer met the requirements, it was defeated in the second round of evaluation by the Textron model, which was also recently selected by Vietnam.
The Vietnam Air Defense Air Force (ADAF) will receive twelve aircraft for the pilot training program at Phan Thiet Air Base by mid-2025.
The Beechcraft T-6C Texan II in detail
The Beechcraft T-6C Texan II is designed and built by Textron Aviation Defense LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. company. The aircraft is the world’s leading military flight trainer with a fleet more than four times the size of its nearest competitor.
The T-6C is specifically designed for a wide range of training capabilities, from basic to advanced operational training, for long-term reliability and cost-effective operation.
Thanks to the pylons on the wings, the T-6 can be fitted with external fuel tanks or, if necessary, weapons. This makes it relatively easy to convert the aircraft into a light attack aircraft.
The technical details:
- Crew: one or two pilots
- Length: 10.16 meters
- Wingspan: 10.19 meters
- Height: 3.25 meters
- Wing area: 16.49 square meters
- Unladen weight: 2,135 kilograms
- Maximum take-off weight: 2,948 kilograms
- Fuel capacity: 677.5 liters
- Engine: 1 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68, 820 kW (1,100 shaft horsepower)
- Cruising speed: 510 km/h (280 kn)
- Maximum speed 586 km/h (316 kn)
- Range: 1,700 kilometers
- Service summit altitude: 9,400 meters
- g-load capacity: +7.0g to -3.5g
15 countries + two NATO schools
To date, the worldwide fleet of more than 1,000 Beechcraft T-6 Texan II aircraft has completed more than five million flight hours.
The T-6 makes an important contribution to global pilot training as part of the NATO flight training program in Canada, the Euro NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program (ENJJPT) at Sheppard AFB in Texas and the Aviation Leadership Program of the US Air Force, the US Navy, the US Marine Corps, the US Army and the US Coast Guard (-> current news about the US armed forces), the British Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force, the Mexican Navy and Air Force as well as the air forces of Greece, Argentina, Israel, Iraq, Colombia, Morocco, New Zealand, Thailand, Tunisia and Vietnam and, in future, Japan.
There is an 85 percent parts commonality with the Beechcraft AT-6E Wolverine, which can function as a light attack aircraft and armed reconnaissance aircraft and is also used by the armed forces could become an issue, as Tom Webster, Vice President Defense & Sales at Textron-Beechcraft Aviation recently confirmed in an interview with Militär Aktuell confirmed.
