Royal Saudi Air Force to Take Delivery of First Pilatus PC-21 in 2014

Released on Friday, May 25, 2012

 

Pilatus Aircraft Ltd is pleased to announce that a contract has been signed

with BAE Systems to supply the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) with a fleet of

55 Pilatus PC-21 turboprop aircraft, together with an integrated ground based

training system and a comprehensive logistics support package. This makes it

by far the biggest ever order in the history of Pilatus.

Following agreement between the Governments of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, under the Saudi

British Defence Cooperation Programme (SBDCP), deliveries of the aircraft,

ground based training systems and the logistics support package are scheduled

to commence in 2014. The aircraft will provide basic flying training in Riyadh to

the RSAF and will replace the PC-9 with the state of the art PC-21 platform in

the shortest possible time

Twenty-five years have passed since the initial batch of Pilatus PC-9 training

aircraft were delivered to the RSAF under an agreement with BAE Systems. After

so many years of sterling service the RSAF has selected the PC-21 aircraft and

ground based training system following a thorough evaluation both here in Stans

and under hot weather conditions in Riyadh Saudi Arabia.

This is yet another major success for Pilatus Aircraft Ltd, confirming the

confidence and the trust our customers place in the quality of our aircraft and

the cost effectiveness of our through life support services.

After Switzerland, Singapore and the UAE, Saudi Arabia is now the fourth country

to procure the PC-21 aircraft. This is in line with today’s changing training

philosophies which are required for advanced operational aircraft now coming

into service with major air forces around the world.

Pilatus is very proud to continue serving the Royal Saudi Air Force by delivering

and supporting the most advanced turboprop trainer aircraft in the world – the

Pilatus PC-21.

 

Source: THE ROYAL SAUDI AIR FORCE SELECTS PILATUS PC-21 FOR PILOT TRAINING