Agentinian Air Force to get U.S. support for T-6 Texan II training aircraft fleet.

The U.S. Defense Cooperation agency announced on April 8 that the State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Argentina of Beechcraft T-6 Texan II Aircraft Sustainment and related equipment for an estimated cost of $73 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale.

Follow Air Recognition on Google News at this link

 The Beechcraft T-6 Texan II is built by Raytheon Aircraft (Textron Aviation since 2014). (Picture source: Zona Militar/Carlos Borda Bettolli)

The Government of Argentina has requested to buy follow-on sustainment and support of their Beechcraft T-6 Texan II aircraft fleet, to include the following aircraft hardware and software modifications and support: major and minor modifications include airframe and avionics improvements for reliability and integration of training munitions and external fuel tanks; aircraft and engine support equipment, components, consumables, spare parts and repair/return; publications and technical documentation; heavy maintenance support; other U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistical support services, and related elements of program support. The estimated total cost is $73 million.

The principal contractor will be Textron Aviation Defense, Wichita, KS. Implementation of this proposed sale may require the assignment of additional U.S. Government and/or U.S. contractor representatives to Argentina to support program and financial management reviews.

The Beechcraft T-6 Texan II is built by Raytheon Aircraft (Textron Aviation since 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 United States 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, by 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), Argentinian Air Force, 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.

T-6 Texan II of the Argentinian Air Force (Picture source: Zona Militar/Carlos Borda Bettolli)