T-6 Also Getting Some Time In The Spotlight

Brazilian manufacturer Embraer isn't the only aerospace company fielding a light turboprop trainer to armed forces at the 2006 Asian Aerospace show in Singapore this week. Raytheon is also there, with its Beechcraft T-6 trainer.

Developed in collaboration with Pilatus as part of the US Government Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS) program, the T-6A "Texan II" (an homage to the original WWII-era T-6 trainer) is currently in service training pilots from nine different countries, and has accumulated over 400,000 fleet hours.

Raytheon states over 350 aircraft have been delivered since the program began, with more than 825 to be built through the year 2017. The aircraft is expected to be supported through the year 2050, and provides a proven transition to the most advanced trainers flying today -- the T-38C and the Hawk.

Earlier this month, Raytheon offered a proposal for T-6B trainers for the Royal Singapore Air Force. If accepted, deliveries would begin in 2008, according to the Wichita Eagle. Raytheon also plans to submit proposals to the Turkish and Chilean air forces, as well as participating in a competition to supply trainers in Australia.

"I see the turboprop trainer market being in the order of 300 airplanes in the next five years," said Raytheon VP of government programs Jim Smith said. "So that's very significant to us in terms of growth potential for the T-6 in the trainer market."

In addition to the basic T-6A and the more advanced T-6B, Raytheon also plans to introduce an "operational version" of the aircraft, Smith said.

Raytheon currently offers the T-6A primary trainer and the T-6B, which incorporates advanced avionics. The next step is to offer an "operational version" of the trainer, Smith said. This version would compete directly against Embraer's Super Tucano trainer, which is also capable of serving as a light attack aircraft for smaller air forces.

Smith told the Wichita paper such an aircraft could be equipped with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment, command and control capabilities such as infrared laser and datalink, or weaponry "that you wouldn't see in a trainer," Smith said.

A basic T-6A costs approximately $5.5 million.

FMI: www.raytheonaircraft.com/government/t_6.shtml