Warplanes: T-6 Heads For The Argentine

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September 4, 2016: Argentina has ordered 24 U.S. made T-6C+ trainer aircraft. This will cost $300 million and includes training (mainly for maintainers), some spare parts and support equipment. In addition to training pilots the Argentinian T-6C+s will also be used for border patrol and other para-military missions.

The T-6 is already the standard trainer for the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, Canada, Germany, Greece, Iraq, Israel, Mexico, and Morocco. The T-6A replaced the T-37B and is based on the very popular Pilatus PC-9, which already had an excellent reputation as a trainer aircraft. A single engine prop driven aircraft, the T-6A reduces fuel costs (versus the jet powered T-37B) by over 60 percent. The three ton T-6As cost about $8 million each just for the aircraft.

The T-6B model is the standard trainer for the U.S. Navy and contains a digital cockpit and a head-up display. This makes it easier to use this version as a light bomber. The T-6C is a T-6A modified so it could carry an external fuel tank up to half a ton of special sensor pods or even weapons. The T-6C+ is a T-6C with more advanced avionics. Nearly 900 T-6s have been built or ordered since the aircraft entered service in 2001.