Japan selects Beechcraft T-6 Texan II as new primary trainer aircraft
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| Beechcraft T-6 Texan II trainer aircraft. |
The Japanese Ministry of Defense announced in late November that it had selected the Beechcraft T-6 Texan II as the next primary trainer aircraft for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). The T-6 won over three other bidders.
The T-6, along with an associated support equipment package, will replace the Fuji T-7 currently in use by the JASDF, which has served as a basic trainer since 2002.
The selection of the new aircraft comes after the Ministry of Defense's 2025 budget proposal (released in August 2024) identified the need to acquire a new primary trainer and ground training equipment; noting that this was "under source selection". The budget request totalled a record high 8.54 trillion yen ($59 billion).
The T-6 was offered by Japan's Kanematsu Corporation, a partner of U.S. manufacturer Textron Aviation. Other bidders included the Pilatus PC-7MKX, proposed by Subaru Corporation, and the Turkish Aerospace Industries Hurkus, proposed by Daihyaku Shoji. An additional proposal came from Shintoa Trading, which offered a solution based solely on ground training equipment. The PC-7MKX and T-6 were the only ones to advance to the second evaluation phase.
The selection of Textron's Beechcraft T-6 marks the end of a long tradition of home-grown trainer aircraft. The current Fuji T-7 was developed to replace the T-3, which is derived from the Fuji KM-2.
The T-6, along with an associated support equipment package, will replace the Fuji T-7 currently in use by the JASDF, which has served as a basic trainer since 2002.
The selection of the new aircraft comes after the Ministry of Defense's 2025 budget proposal (released in August 2024) identified the need to acquire a new primary trainer and ground training equipment; noting that this was "under source selection". The budget request totalled a record high 8.54 trillion yen ($59 billion).
The T-6 was offered by Japan's Kanematsu Corporation, a partner of U.S. manufacturer Textron Aviation. Other bidders included the Pilatus PC-7MKX, proposed by Subaru Corporation, and the Turkish Aerospace Industries Hurkus, proposed by Daihyaku Shoji. An additional proposal came from Shintoa Trading, which offered a solution based solely on ground training equipment. The PC-7MKX and T-6 were the only ones to advance to the second evaluation phase.
The selection of Textron's Beechcraft T-6 marks the end of a long tradition of home-grown trainer aircraft. The current Fuji T-7 was developed to replace the T-3, which is derived from the Fuji KM-2.
Written by Matteo Sanzani
Image: Textron Aviation
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