TSAMTO, September 7. The command of the Colombian Air Force has officially announced its intention to adopt 24 T-6C Texan-2 turboprop training aircraft of the American company Textron Aviation.
According to the information Defensa.com This was announced by the commander of the Air Force, General Ramses Rueda Rueda, on the air of the program "A Volar", emphasizing the importance of this acquisition for maintaining a high level of training of pilots.
At the moment, the Colombian Air Force has received two of the three T-6C TCB ordered to replace the outdated T-37B delivered to the Colombian Air Force in the 1970s.
As reported by TSAMTO, in October 2020, in response to a request from the command of the Colombian Air Force, Textron Aviation submitted a proposal to conclude a direct contract without a tender for the supply of three T-6C "Texan-2" aircraft to provide basic training for pilots of the Colombian Air Force.
The agreement signed in the same month provided for the purchase of three aircraft with a total cost of $ 28.734 million. It is planned that the deliveries should be fully completed by the end of April 2022.
The first two aircraft were transferred by the contractor to the Colombian Air Force in May 2021. The official ceremony of their adoption took place on July 12, 2021. TCB with b. n. FAC-2350 and FAC-2351 became part of the 116th Squadron of the Aviation Command and will be used to provide basic training for Air Force pilots.
The Colombian Air Force also needs to supply light combat aircraft to replace the A-37 "Dregonfly". In this regard, a number of representatives of the Colombian Air Force have previously expressed their support for the purchase of the UBS EMB-314 "Super Tucano" by the Brazilian Embraer, which can be used not only for pilot training, but also as a light attack aircraft.
