Vietnam Air Force cleared to get Beechcraft T-6 Texan II trainer aircraft.

According to Asian Defence, the U.S. has agreed to sell Beechcraft T-6 Texan II trainer aircraft to Vietnam, U.S. Pacific Air Forces Commander Kenneth Wilsbach said on June 4 : "We're committed to helping that aircraft to be delivered and then operationalizing and improving the Vietnamese Air Force's pilot training," he said at a teleconference hosted by the U.S. Department of State Asia Pacific Media Hub on June 4.

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In 2019 Senior Lieutenant Dang Duc Toai finished the U.S. Air Force's Aviation Leadership Program for which he flew the T-6 for more than 167 hours (Picture source: via Asian Defence)

U.S. Pacific Air Forces Commander Kenneth Wilsbach did not mention how many aircraft would be delivered to Vietnam. Replying to a question about cooperation between the two countries in the near future, he said the T-6 deal is one of the "biggest things" to be noticed.

In 2019, Senior Lieutenant Dang Duc Toai finished the U.S. Air Force's Aviation Leadership Program for which he flew the T-6 for more than 167 hours. Wilsbach said that later this summer the Vietnamese Air Force chief is planning to attend the Pacific Air Chiefs Conference in Hawaii to which 22 nations would be sending their air chiefs for talks. Wilsbach said: "We're excited that Vietnam's air chief is coming for that. We're looking forward to the discussions, which I believe will lead to furthering of our relationship, and give us other opportunities for engagement."

The Beechcraft T-6 Texan II is a turboprop aircraft built by the Raytheon Aircraft Company (which became Hawker Beechcraft and later Beechcraft Defense company and was bought by Textron Aviation in 2014). A trainer aircraft based on the Pilatus PC-9, the T-6 has replaced the U.S. Air Force's Cessna T-37B Tweet and the U.S. Navy's T-34C Turbo Mentor. The T-6A is used by the U.S. Air Force for basic pilot training and Combat Systems Officer (CSO) training, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps for primary Naval Aviator training and primary and intermediate Naval Flight Officer (NFO) training, and by the Royal Canadian Air Force (CT-156 Harvard II designation), Greek Air Force, Israeli Air Force (with the "Efroni" nickname), and Iraqi Air Force for basic flight training. The T-6B is the primary trainer for U.S. student naval aviators (SNAs). The T-6C is used for training by the Mexican Air Force, Royal Air Force, Royal Moroccan Air Force, and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. The Vietnamese Air Force will become the newest user of this aircraft.

Beechcraft T-6 Texan II (Picture source: Wikipedia)