Dutch PC-7 replacement announced
On 16 December 2020, The Dutch Ministry of Defence announced they will say goodbye to the Pilatus PC-7M Turbo Trainer in seven years. The fleet of thirteen basic propeller trainers of the Koninklijke Luchtmacht (KLu, Royal Netherlands Air Force) will then reach the end of their life. It is now being examined how the PC-7s will be replaced as State Secretary of Defence Barbara Visser wrote to the Lower House.
The Elementaire Militaire Vlieger Opleiding (EMVO, Elementary Military Pilot Training) is using the PC-7 since 1988. From 2013 onwards, the aircraft underwent a service life extension and modification programme with manufacturer Pilatus at Stans (Switzerland) so they were able to continue service up the late 20s.
The service life and modification programme contained an upgrade to the cockpit that changed from analogue to digital and the airframe is improved on sixteen positions. It is expected that the maximum number of flight hours or the maximum number of landings will be reached by 2027.
A successor aircraft is not selected yet, so all options are available. The Lower House was also informed that a one on one replacement is probably not necessary. For example, the MoD is investigating innovative options, like increased use of modern and advanced simulators as well as an international cooperation in training. Sustainability will also play a role in the upcoming acquisition. The new training aircraft could be leased on, or even outsourced to the civil market. The latter option is well known in other NATO countries.
The new training aircraft must have simple, military flying characteristics for student pilot and instructor. Forgiveness of the device is also important. This gives pilots the opportunity to correct a mistake more easily, without this immediately leading to dangerous situations.
Pilots of the KLu are internationally highly esteemed, partly because of the very high demands set by the Ministry of Defence and the basic training of the KLu. In that way, when ultimately selected in the process, very less student pilots fail in the following actual flight training programme and most of them reach the status of pilot.
It is expected that the PC-7 replacement project will cost between USD 122 and 305 million (100 -250 million euro). The MoD announced they will carefully evaluate their options and a successor aircraft will probably selected in 2022. Evident aircraft are, among others, likely the Pilatus PC-9, Grob 120 or Dart 550. Aircraft types like the PC-21, EMB314 Super Tucano and T-6 Texan are options, but little unlikely as these are too advanced for the needs of the KLu: basic training. The Texan is already used (not owned) by the KLu for advanced training at Sheppard AFB (TX).
The current thirteen PC-7s (serials L-01 to L-13) are based at Woensdrecht and asigned to the 131(EMVO)sq.
Photo by Instagram Stephan_debruijn