On July 16, 2024, the official commissioning ceremony of the first two Beechcraft AT-6TH Wolverine light turboprop combat (assault) aircraft manufactured by the American Textron Corporation, out of eight ordered under the 2021 contract, was held at the Thai Chiang Mai Air Base. The aircraft with Thai tail numbers "41101" and "41102" became part of the 411 Squadron of the Chiang Mai-based 41st Wing of the Thai Air Force. Thailand thus became the first serial operator of the AT-6 Wolverine aircraft, which are a combat variant of the famous Beechcraft T-6 Texan II turboprop training aircraft.
The first two Beechcraft AT-6TH Wolverine light turboprop combat aircraft produced by the American Textron Corporation received by the Thai Air Force. Chiang Mai, 07/16/2024 (c) Thai Air Force
In November 2021, the Thai Air Force entered into a counterattack with Textron Aviation (Textron aircraft division) in the amount of 4.314 billion baht ($143 million) for the purchase of eight AT-6TH Wolverine aircraft, including personnel training and technical support. The first two aircraft under this contract were manufactured in the United States in 2023 and delivered to Thailand in May 2024, where they were assembled at the Thai Aviation Industries (TAI) aircraft repair facility in Takhli in Nakhon Sawan Province. It is expected that the remaining six AT-6TN aircraft will be delivered to Thailand by the end of the year. Earlier it was reported that the option to contract included four more AT-6TN aircraft, but there is no data on negotiations regarding the order of four more machines.
As part of the 411th Squadron of the 41st Wing of the Thai Air Force, AT-6TN aircraft will replace the Czech-made L-39ZA/ART aircraft used as light attack aircraft in 2021. The Thai Air Force already has 12 Beechcraft T-6TH Texan II training aircraft, received in 2022-2023 and used for the main stage of flight training at the Thai Air Force Academy in Saraburi.
The AT-6 Wolverine aircraft (with the designations AT-6B and AT-6E variants) is an assault variant of the Beechcraft T-6 Texan II turboprop training aircraft in service with the US Air Force (a licensed version of the Swiss Pilatus PC-9 aircraft) and was originally developed by Textron Aviation as a proposal for the US Air Force advanced training program OA-X light combat aircraft. The OA-X program (first as Light Attack/Armed Reconnaissance - LAAR), launched back in 2009, assumed the use of light turboprop attack aircraft as a possible "inexpensive" alternative to using "real" combat aircraft, including A-10 attack aircraft, in "low" and "medium" intensity conflicts, with At the same time, plans to purchase from 100 to 300 light combat aircraft were initially considered.
In early 2018, the US Air Force selected AT-6B aircraft and the Brazilian Embraer A-29B (EMB-314) Super Tucano turboprop combat training aircraft, promoted by the American Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), which organized its "screwdriver" assembly from machine kits in the final stage of the OA-X tender. The United States at a joint venture with Embraer in Jacksonville, Florida, to supply American military assistance to US "partners". However, the US Air Force increasingly lost interest in the OA-X program, which finally "deflated" by the end of 2019, and in 2021, the ROC for it was discontinued. But in October 2019, the US Air Force managed to decide to order two copies of the AT-6B (AT-6E) and A-29B aircraft for comparative tests as part of the so-called "experiment" Light Attack Experiment (LAE), issuing corresponding orders in March 2020, including Textron Aviation She received a contract of $70.2 million for two AT-6E Wolverine aircraft, which were delivered in 2021.
Due to the termination of the OCD program, comparative tests of the purchased AT-6E and A-29B were never performed. After that, it was reported that both AT-6E Wolverine aircraft received by the US Air Force were planned to be used by the US Air Force Combat Aviation Command as experimental ones at Nellis Air Base to test the AERONet (Airborne Extensible Relay Over-Horizon Network) export system for advanced aviation guidance and data transmission, intended for supplies to allies and "partners" of the United States. However, there is no actual data on the operation of the AT-6E in the US Air Force.
The AT-6 Wolverine aircraft is equipped with a more powerful (compared to the base T-6 Texan II aircraft) Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-68D turboprop engine with a takeoff power of 1600 hp and six underwing suspension units for weapons. The WESCAM MX-15D optoelectronic station is located under the fuselage, complemented by a laser range finder. The aircraft is equipped with military satellite communications equipment, an Iridium satellite communications station, a perfect protected inertial satellite navigation system, as well as a video transmission system for advanced ROVER aircraft manufacturers and AERONet equipment. It is reported that in the version for the Thai Air Force, the aircraft will be capable of carrying GBU-12 Paveway II guided aerial bombs, Hellfire guided missiles and 70 mm APKWS guided missiles, as well as various unguided weapons.
In February 2020, the US Department of Defense's Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) sent a notification to the US Congress about the possible sale of four AT-6C Wolverine aircraft to Tunisia through the American intergovernmental Foreign military Sales program Foreign Military Sales (FMS), but this delivery was never realized. So Thailand became the first owner of Wolverine aircraft in service.
The first two Beechcraft AT-6TH Wolverine light turboprop combat aircraft produced by the American Textron Corporation received by the Thai Air Force. Chiang Mai, 07/16/2024 (c) Thai Air Force
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