Pilatus Completes Delivery of Royal Australian Air Force PC-21

18 Juli 2019

PC-21 for the ARDU (photo : Scramble)

TSAMTO - On July 12 Pilatus announced the completion of the assembly of the third PC-21 intended for the Air Force Research and Development Unit of the Australian Air Force (ARDU). According to Scramble Magazine, the aircraft with serial number A54-045 (serial number SN 278, temporary registration number HB-HWS) was presented in gray tones of the Australian Air Force and with an ARDU icon on its tail.

The ARDU aviation research and development unit plans, conducts and analyzes the results of ground and flight tests of existing and new aircraft of the Australian Air Force. The ARDU group consists of four units located at air bases in Edinburgh, Amberley, Richmond and Williamtown, which employ qualified test pilots, flight test engineers and flight test systems specialists. Previously, ARDU received PC-21 aircraft with serial numbers A54-017 (serial number 250) and A54-018 (serial number 251).

According to TSAMTO, judging by the serial number of the third PC-21 for the ARDU group, the delivery program of the Australian Air Force to 49 machines of this type is being completed. In particular, the aircraft intended for the ARDU group is the 45th in the series.

Recall that on September 6, 2015, the Australian Ministry of Defense announced the selection of a consortium headed by Lockheed Martin Australia as a preferred participant in the tender for the supply of a new system of military pilots training for the country's air force under the AIR 5428 project. New aircraft are designed to replace 63 obsolete PC-9/A, as well as the CT-4B Airtreiner. PC-9/A should be decommissioned in 2019 after 30 years of operation.

On 8 December 2015, the Australian Ministry of Defense concluded a contract with Lockheed Martin Australia worth 1.2 billion Austrians. dollars (863 million dollars) for the supply and maintenance of the flight training system based on the TC-21 PC-21. The agreement provides for the delivery of 49 Pilatus Aircraft's PC-21 aircraft, seven flight simulators, the creation of a flight training system, and logistics during the initial seven-year period. Hawker Pacific has been assigned technical support services for aircraft.

The flight tests of the first PCT-21 produced for the Australian Air Force, PC-21 (serial number A54-001), began in June 2016. The transfer of the first pair of aircraft to the air force took place in March 2017 during the international aviation and defense exhibition AVALON-2017. The first 6 PC-21 aircraft were officially adopted by the Australian Air Force in August 2017.

(ArmsTrade)