USAF seeks T-6A modernisation as part of wider pilot training revamp

The US Air Force (USAF) is to upgrade its Textron T-6A Texan II turboprop aircraft as part of a wider revamp of its pilot training pipeline, which it intends to model on commercial standards.

The service announced on 25 February that it plans to hold an industry day later in the month geared at assessing interest and capabilities in modernising the avionics of the T-6A fleet, at the same time as issuing requests for information (RFIs) for Government Owned Contractor Operated (GOCO) Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) 2.5, Contractor Undergraduate Pilot Training-Multi-Engine (CUPT-ME), and Introductory Flight Training-Rotary Wing (IFT-R).

“The current T-6A federated avionics system is comprised of analogue and first-generation digital components which have become increasingly impacted by obsolescence issues in recent years, resulting in decreased component reliability, declining aircraft availability rates, and increased life cycle sustainment costs. A comprehensive avionics system replacement is being considered to resolve the obsolescence issues and posture the T-6A for a long-term avionics life cycle sustainment framework which is both reliable and cost effective,” the T-6A Avionics System Replacement RFI stated.