Why The T-6 Texan II Is Becoming A Leading Military Training Aircraft

Modern fighter jets require a great deal of training and talent to fly, often requiring years before a pilot is certified. For example, it takes an average of 192 hours of training before a pilot can take off in a Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, and that's only the beginning. What follows are years of training to bring pilots up to the standards they need to operate the aircraft. Because of this, many militaries don't throw new pilots into $100 million pieces of equipment.

For that, they use training aircraft, which are often very different from more advanced fighters. Still, most people would likely assume that the U.S. Air Force uses jets for training, but that's not always the case. Instead, prospective pilots must learn the basics of flight in a far less advanced aircraft. For some air forces, including the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), the plane that's used to train its pilots is a propeller-driven single-engine aircraft that was first introduced as a military pilot trainer in 2001, the T-6 Texan II.

The U.S. Air Force began training with the T-6 Texan II at Randolph Air Force Base (AFB) and later moved its fleet of training planes to other locations around the U.S. Japan's selection of the trainer makes it one of at least 14 nations that employ the T-6 II or one of its variants. Of course, there's a reason modern militaries are using propeller-driven planes to train their pilots, and it comes down to the simple fact that the T-6 II is an outstanding and versatile aircraft.

The T-6 Texan II was designed from the ground up to be used as a training aircraft, and that's how the U.S. and other nations primarily employ it. The plane is outfitted with a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68 turbo-prop engine capable of providing 1,100 hp. This enables the T-6 to fly up to 320 mph (Mach 0.41) to a ceiling of 31,000 feet and a range of 1,036 miles. The cockpit houses two personnel: A student pilot and an instructor pilot. The T-6 II is meant to be used as an entry-level trainer, helping to train a pilot on the basics of flight.

Beechcraft describes the T-6 II as "The world's premier military flight trainer," and it's not an empty boast. The T-6 II has logged over five million flight hours, helping to train multiple nations' pilots on basic flight. The primary flight display and incorporated head-up display (HUD) can emulate those used on the F-16 and F/A-18, which the pilot can freely choose. There are multiple variants, including the AT-6B Wolverine, which is armed for weapons and light attack training or deployment.

Other variants incorporate advances in display technology, upgraded communications and electro-optical sensors, and more. The armed variants are used primarily for training, but they can be used for light attack roles should the need arise. Thailand purchased numerous armed T-6 IIs and can employ them as light attack aircraft or as trainers. The versatility of the T-6 is what makes it such a useful training aircraft, and with more allies purchasing them, that's unlikely to change in the near future.

While it's clear that the T-6 Texan II is a capable aircraft that is being used by militaries around the world, what's not apparent is the reason why. The simple answer is one that often comes up when discussing military procurement: Cost. A brand new T-6A costs around $4.27 million to purchase from Beechcraft. While that's not a small sum of money, it's comparatively tiny when looking at the cost of something like a Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, F-22, or F-35. These fighters cost between $63 million and upward of $177 million, so spending $4.27 million on a trainer makes economic sense.

A secondary cost involves maintenance, and it's not cheap to keep a modern fighter jet in operation. The T-6 Texan's operating costs are significantly lower, running about $2,235 per flight hour. While that's not a paltry amount of cash, it's well below the operating costs of fighters, which are much higher. According to Popular Mechanics, the F-22 Raptor runs the U.S. government $85,325 per flight hour, so spending 2.6% of that amount on a trainer is something of a no-brainer.

Another benefit of using the T-6 for training is Beechcraft's fast production and delivery times. That's not something people outside of military procurement think of, but it's a significant aspect of defense spending. Beechcraft maintains a highly efficient production capability that benefits from the use of 85% parts commonality with other T-6 variants. All of this comes together to make the T-6 Texan II the premiere Integrated Training System (ITS) in use in the U.S. and around the world.