Deal Includes PC-21 Simulators and Cockpit Mock-Ups
The Spanish Air Force, Ejército del Aire—satisfied, apparently, with the 24 Pilatus PC-21 aircraft it acquired in 2020—has opted to purchase an additional 16 of the single-turboprop, advanced training aircraft, thereby earning Spain the distinction of being Europe’s largest PC-21 operator.
The contract was signed with Spain’s Dirección General de Armamento y Material (DGAM).
Since the summer of 2022, Spain’s future military pilots have undergone training in the PC-21. The addition of the 16 new specimens will see the model’s role in Spain’s national defense expanded from solely basic pilot training to additional, more advanced phases of aviator development.
Lieutenant Colonel Ildefonso Martínez-Pardo González, Academia General del Aire (AGA) Air Operations Group Commander, stated: “Now in use with the Spanish Air and Space Force for over 18-months, the PC-21 integrated training system far exceeds our expectations. Its reliable and efficient powerplant, aerodynamics, safety systems, and avionics make the PC-21 a highly-versatile trainer, capable of performing any phase of flight-training from the most elementary to the most advanced. Our relationship with Pilatus has been outstanding throughout, and a key factor for successful implementation. The excellent collaboration, professionalism, and teamwork of everyone involved over the past three-years have enabled us to roll out this PC-21 training course in record time without interruption to training.”
The first 14 of the newly-ordered PC-21s will be delivered to the Academia General del Aire (AGA) in San Javier. The remaining two aircraft are destined for Spain’s Centro Logístico de Armamento y Experimentación (CLAEX), where they will be plied to experimental, flight-test training, and research and development endeavors. The CLAEX aircraft will be based in Torrejón near Madrid.
The transaction also includes a PC-21 simulator, two cockpit procedure trainers, additional mission planning and debriefing systems, and pilot training software germane to the PC-21.
Speaking at the contract-signing ceremony, Pilatus CEO Markus Bucher remarked: “What could be better than a customer who buys again from Pilatus! Spain is an extremely renowned, professional air force. As such, Spain’s decision is a testimony to the capabilities of our training system. It is the most advanced, most efficient training system available on the market!”
Pilatus vice-president of government aviation André Zimmermann added: “Over the last few years, we have built an excellent relationship with the Spanish customer and are now very pleased to help them enhancing their training skills with this follow-on order of PC-21 aircraft and associated ground-based training systems. This proves once again that Pilatus is producing and delivering first-class products to satisfy the high requirements of our customers.”
Pilatus’s PC-21 single-turboprop is more fuel-efficient and cost-effective to operate than conventional straight-pipe jet trainers. Data gleaned by analysis of extant PC-21 customers’ pilot training programs shows Pilatus’s training system—to include the PC-21 aircraft, simulators, cockpit training devices, and pilot training software—can reduce the cost of training a military pilot by over fifty-percent.
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