The UK Ministry of Defense has awarded a contract worth about £ 65 million to Affinity Flying Training Services to operate four additional Beechcraft T-6C Texan IIs under the UK Military Flying Training Organization (UK MFTS) program.
The newly awarded contract was announced by Affinity on November 8 and has been on hold since arriving at the Valley RAF base in Anglesey, Wales on October 30, 2020, following the acquisition of four additional T-6Cs from Dextron Aviation Defense.
These aircraft will be used primarily at the company’s facilities at the Valley RAF site, where they will be joined by ten Texans already in operation.
Known as the Texan T1 in the UK service, the fleet will be used with the Royal 72 Squadron to train future high-speed jet pilots to cross the UK MFTS Program Basic Flight Training (BFT) phase. Air Force (RAF). On October 31, 2019, the Texan T1 officially replaced the RAF’s Short Dugano T1 Turboprop Navy in this role.
Affinity says the operation of four more Texans will “provide more training support for the UK MFTS program and an increase in training and flight hours”. He added that the Navy is scheduled to reach full operational capacity (FOC) by 2024.
The company says the upgrade offered through this latest deal will support the hiring of a further 30 employees, boosting the local economy and improving capabilities in the neighborhood. This will allow Affinity to improve its distribution through upgrades to key features.
Ian Salmers, Managing Director of Affinity, said: “I am pleased to be able to make another contribution to the UK MFTS program, a full-fledged joint venture with the UK Department of Defense, Textron Aviation Defense and Ascent Flight Training.
“We, our Textron colleagues and our UK partners in MFTS are committed to supporting and providing an excellent training system for the UK defense sector, while at the same time providing opportunities for training in line with RAF’s Astra campaign. Generation of pilots,” he added.
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