Vietnam to Get Pilot Training Boost with T-6 Texan II

The Vietnam Air Defence Air Force (ADAF) will receive three Textron Aviation Beechcraft T-6 Texan II turboprop trainers from the USA. Delivery of the aircraft is likely by mid-2023 and additional aircraft could be acquired by Vietnam at a later stage.

The new trainers will help Vietnam modernise its pilot training programme with a new aircraft that can undertake basic and advanced flight training. The US Air Force (USAF) will assist Vietnam in integrating the T-6 Texan II into its air force as its primary training platform.

US Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) Commander General Ken Wilsbach provided confirmation in early June, during a briefing, stating that Vietnam is buying the T-6 trainer in an effort to improve their pilot training programme. ‘We’re committed to helping that aircraft be delivered and then operationalizing it and improving the Vietnamese air force’s pilot training," Wilsbach said.

The USAF has already been training ADAF pilots and in May 2019, Capt. Toai Dang became the first Vietnamese student to graduate from the USAF’s Aviation Leadership Programme (ALP) which provides undergraduate pilot training scholarships to students of partner and developing countries. Dang returned to Vietnam to fly the EADS CASA 295 twin turboprop tactical airlifter.

The USAF had issued a Request for Information (RFI) in February, seeking to provide the Vietnam with three trainer aircraft and establish a modern Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) Programme based on the USAF’s pilot training model. The RFI also called for one full-fidelity, 360 degree out the window visual display system simulator, a computer-based training lab with 12 student station and up to three years of spares for the training devices, and programme support.

The RFI had also asked for the aircraft to be configured with external fuel tanks for extended range training operations over water and at extended geographic distances covering the length of the Vietnamese coast-line.