Textron T-6 Texan II Fleet deal: Textron Aviation Defense has won a new US military contract worth more than $150 million to keep the T-6 Texan II training aircraft running well. The work is for program management and maintenance support. This new award builds on an earlier 2021 deal and raises the total contract ceiling to $510 million. The work will cover the T-6A, T-6B, and T-6D versions used by the US Air Force, US Navy, and US Army. Textron will handle the job from Wichita, Kansas, over the next five years.
Travis Tyler, president and CEO of Textron Aviation Defense, spoke about the contract and said, “This follow-on [Sustaining Engineering and Program Management] contract reflects the US Government T-6 Joint Program Office’s continued confidence in our team and our ability to keep the T-6 Texan II fleet mission-ready,” said Travis Tyler, president and CEO at Textron Aviation Defense. He also said, “Our focus remains on sustaining aircraft availability and supporting our customers as they train the next generation of military pilots.”
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A Training Plane Used by Many Countries
The T-6 Texan II is a military training aircraft based on the Pilatus PC-9 design. It has been used for many years to help train new pilots. Textron says the aircraft has been the world’s top integrated training system for more than 20 years. The global fleet has more than 1,000 aircraft and has passed 5 million flight hours. It is used across 15 countries, along with two NATO military flight schools.
This plane is built for training but it is still a strong and modern aircraft. It has two seats and is made to help pilots learn the basics and then move to harder flying lessons. The long worldwide use of the T-6 shows that many air forces still trust it as a key training aircraft.
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What can the Aircraft do?
The Texan II is powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A turboprop engine with 1,100 horsepower. It uses a four-bladed Hartzell propeller. Textron says the aircraft can reach a maximum speed of 280 knots, fly as high as 31,000 feet, and travel about 900 nautical miles. Those numbers help explain why it has stayed useful for so long in military pilot training.
