Spanish Air Force Receives First Pilatus PC-21
Contact Our Team
For more information about how Halldale can add value to your marketing and promotional campaigns or to discuss event exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities, contact our team to find out more
The Americas -
holly.foster@halldale.com
Rest of World -
jeremy@halldale.com
The Spanish Air Force has received its first PC-21 advanced training system by Pilatus from the Spanish Ministry of Defence, through the General Directorate of Armament and Material (DGAM). The system will be immediately integrated to be a part of the 792 Squadron, the Basic Training School in the Spanish Air Force Academy. Pilatus will deliver a total of 24 PC-21s to Spain by June 2022.
Pilatus won the contract with the PC-21 through an international competition in 2020. The first PC-21 was handed over in San Javier on 14 September 2021.
“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,” said Brigadier General of the Air Force León-Antonio Machés, DGAM (Ministerio de Defensa de España) Deputy Director General of Programs.
Experience with existing PC-21 customers shows that the budget for training a student military pilot can be reduced by more than 50 percent with the PC-21. These single-engine turboprops require far less fuel than comparable jet trainers. Besides the actual aircraft, the PC-21 training system includes simulators, computer-based training and virtual reality tools.
The air force will launch its first pilot training course in September 2022.
