First Tunisian Air Force Beechcraft T-6C Texan II
On 8 November 2022, Textron Aviation Defense announced the hand-over of the first Beechcraft T-6C Texan II training aircraft to the Al Quwwat al-Jawwiya At'Tunisia's (Tunisian Air Force).
The aircraft, still registered N2766B with future Tunisian serial Y22081/KA, was photographed during the official ceremony in Wichita (KS). The Tunisian Air Force will use the new trainers with 13 Squadron at Sfax/Thyna Air Base located 290 south of Tunis on the Mediterranean coast.
On 30 June 2022, Textron Aviation Defense, Wichita (KS), was awarded a USD 91 million modification to a previously awarded contract for the procurement of the Tunisian Air Force T-6C Texan IIs. The contract modification was for the procurement of eight T-6C training aircraft, spare parts, spare engines, aircraft support equipment, training systems and other items.
It has not been reported yet that this aircraft has already been delivered to Tunisia. Textron reports that they will deliver a second aircraft in late 2022. Scramble Magazine assesses that the first delivery will wait till more aircraft are avaliable. The other six Texan IIs are slated for delivery in 2023.
Training of the initial cadre of pilots began on 31 October 2022 at the Textron Aviation Defense facilities in Wichita. Additionally, the Tunisian Air Force will rely upon TRU Simulation + Training Inc., an affiliate of Textron Aviation Inc, for a suite of training devices and related support. The devices, also planned for installiation at Sfax/Thyna, include a ground-based training system, an operational flight trainer and a computer-based training lab.
Photo by Textron Aviation Defense