The Spanish Air Force, Ejército del Aire, decided to purchase 24 PC-21s in early 2020 and the final PC-21 of this order was delivered to Spain in mid-2022.
Pilatus has announced it has received a contract for another 16 PC-21 aircraft from The Spanish Air Force. The newly signed contract with the Dirección General de Armamento y Material (DGAM) makes Spain the largest PC-21 operator in Europe. The Spanish Air Force, Ejército del Aire, decided to purchase 24 PC-21s in early 2020. The final PC-21 of this order was delivered to Spain in mid-2022.
Lieutenant Colonel Ildefonso Martínez-Pardo González, Air Operations Group Commander, Academia General del Aire (AGA) said: “Now in use with the Spanish Air and Space Force for over 18 months, the PC-21 integrated training system far exceeds our expectations. Its reliable and efficient powerplant, aerodynamics, safety systems and avionics make the PC-21 a highly versatile trainer, capable of performing any phase of flight training from the most elementary to the most advanced. Our relationship with Pilatus has been outstanding throughout, and a key factor for successful implementation. The excellent collaboration, professionalism and teamwork of everyone involved over the past three years have enabled us to roll out this PC-21 training course in record time without interruption to training.”
Spain has been using the PC-21jet since the summer of 2022, and its future military pilots have trained with the world’s most advanced training system by Pilatus. After a very professional negotiation phase, the Spanish Air Force has now ordered another 16 PC-21s to reinforce pilot training with additional Pilatus trainer aircraft. The training bandwidth of the PC-21 will also be enlarged in the future, the PC-21 will also be used for elementary training in addition to basic training.
Markus Bucher, CEO, Pilatus said, “What could be better than a customer who buys again from to Pilatus! Spain is an extremely renowned, professional air force. As such, Spain’s decision is a testimony to the capabilities of our training system. It is the most advanced, most efficient training system available on the market!”
The 14 PC-21 aircraft will be delivered to the Academia General del Aire (AGA) in San Javier. An additional two PC-21s will also be delivered to the Centro Logístico de Armamento y Experimentación (CLAEX). These two PC-21s will be used for experimental, flight test training and research and development activities. The aircraft will be based in Torrejón near Madrid. The package also includes a PC-21 simulator, two cockpit procedure trainers, additional mission planning and debriefing systems as well as pilot training software.
André Zimmermann, VP Government Aviation at Pilatus said, “Over the last few years, we have built an excellent relationship with the Spanish customer and are now very pleased to help them enhancing their training skills with this follow-on order of PC-21 aircraft and associated Ground Based Training Systems. This proves once again that Pilatus is producing and delivering first class products to satisfy the high requirements of our customers.”
Read more stories…. Lockheed Martin delivers First of sixteen F-16 Block 70 aircraft to Royal Bahraini Air Force
With ever-growing pressure on air force funding, the completely newly developed PC-21 offers a highly efficient, intelligent platform for training jet pilots. To meet all the expectations, the PC-21 has extremely high equipment and performance features. They enable the single-engine turboprop to perform a range of missions previously reserved exclusively for jets. The PC-21 is far more cost-effective and fuel-efficient to operate than a jet trainer. Experience with existing PC-21 customers shows that with the Pilatus Training System, the cost of training a future military pilot can be reduced by over 50 percent.
