New Swiss-made aircraft for RSAF pilot trainees
According to David's recent article, work on the first RSAF PC-21 has began on Monday at Pilatus and will be delivered in 2008.
David Boey, DEFENCE CORRESPONDENT
13 November 2006
Straits Times
(c) 2006 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Air force will lease 19 planes from June 2008 and outsource maintenance work
AIR Force pilot trainees are about to get the best of international military know-how.
From June 2008, they will take to the skies over Western Australia in new trainer aircraft maintained by top-notch defence companies .
The Ministry of Defence has inked a deal to lease a new turboprop trainer aircraft for their training - the PC-21, made by Swiss aircraft maker Pilatus. A fleet of 19 will be ready for exclusive use by the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF).
With the lease agreement, the air force will save millions of dollars in maintenance costs, paying only for flight hours clocked.
The PC-21 Advanced Turboprop Trainer is especially ideal for trainees to learn the rudiments of military flying.
Cockpit displays in the two-seater aircraft simulate those in advanced warplanes such as the F-16.
Work on the first plane began on Monday, said Pilatus, and deliveries should begin in early 2008.
The deal makes Singapore the biggest user of the PC-21 after the Swiss Air Force.
Mindef awarded a contract last Friday to Lockheed Martin Simulation, Training and Support to 'supply and maintain' the PC-21s.
The deal, whose value was undisclosed, is a multinational one. Lockheed partnered Pilatus and Australian aviation company Hawker Pacific, which will help maintain the PC-21s.
The American defence giant will also supply two simulators and an ejection seat trainer to support the air force's Basic Wings training course for the next 20 years.
The course is the first step in a pilot's career, from which he can move on to flying transport planes or helicopters - and, of course, warplanes like the F-16.
Along with pilot trainees, weapon system officers (WSOs) - they fly in warplanes to operate their radar and weapons - will also be trained on the PC-21 planes.
What will not change is the location of the pilot training base - at the Royal Australian Air Force air base in Pearce, near Perth.
There, expansive training areas, fine weather and less congested airspace allow RSAF instructors to make best use of training flights.
The Swiss plane beat the American Raytheon T-6B, the Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucano from Brazil and the Italian Aermacchi M-311 to land the Mindef deal.
The new aircraft will replace the current Marchetti S.211 planes, which are already 22 years old.
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