Pilatus To Deliver 24 PC-21s by June 2022

Through the General Directorate of Armament and Material, The Spanish Ministry of Defence delivered to the Spanish Air Force, the Ejército del Aire, its first PC-21.

The 792 Squadron, the Basic Training School in the Spanish Air Force Academy, will integrate the aircraft.

Pilatus will deliver a total of 24 PC-21s to Spain by June 2022. Pilatus won the contract with the PC-21 in 2020. The first PC-21 was handed over in San Javier on September 14, 2021.

Brigadier General of the Air Force León-Antonio Machés, DGAM Deputy Director General of Programs commented at the handover, “We are very pleased to be able to integrate such an advanced training system. Not only will the PC-21 revolutionise our pilot training and take it to a whole new level, it will also allow us to reduce the cost of our pilot training.”

“We’re delighted that the first PC-21 in the national colours will take to the Spanish skies as of now. Spain – a renowned and highly professional air force – is already the third air force in Europe to have opted for the world’s most advanced training system and we are confident that others will follow Spain’s example,” said André Zimmermann, VP Government Aviation at Pilatus.

The air force will launch its first pilot training course in September 2022. Experience with existing PC-21 customers, according to the company, shows that the budget for training a student military pilot can be reduced by more than 50 percent with the PC-21.

FMI: https://www.pilatus-aircraft.com