Well, after 30 years of service with the Mexican Air Force, the Pilatus PC7 will be finally replaced.
The Air Force announced it has selected the Hawker Beechcraft T6C Texan II over the Embraer Super Tucano (Brazil) and the Pilatus PC9M(Switzerland).
Texan II All-glass cockpit (photo: http://www.airforce-technology.com)
The Texan II main features are:
All-glass cockpit
Head-Up Display (HUD)
Hands-on-throttle and stick (HOTAS)
Range: 1,575 km
Max speed: 585 KM/h
And yes…………it has wing hard points for a limited CAS capability.
The Mexican Air Force will first buy 10 T6C Texan II for advanced training purposes and a following order of 20 planes will come in the next years (perhaps two to three years).
Rumor has it that the second purchase will include the more capable version AT6, a network-centric light attack aircraft with FLIR and Data Link systems.
Certainly not good news for Pilatus’ guys….it seems they lost one of their best customers ever (Mexico operated up to 80 PC7 over the 80’s and 90’s).
Click here for a great video: http://newsroom.hawkerbeechcraft.com/media-center/beechcraft-t-6c/
Addendum:
The information posted on this blog comes from a public document issued by Mexico’sDefense Ministry on November 4th.
