French Air Force In Talks For More Pilatus PC-21s

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Eight more Pilatus for the Armée de l'Air?

Talks have started for an extra order for Pilatus PC-21s. This comes a little over a year after the final two of seventeen new built Pilatus PC-21s for the Armée de l'Air (AdlA, French Air Force) were delivered to Base Aerienne 709 Cognac (France). New fighter pilot students currently fly 135 hours on the PC-21 in the basic and advanced part of their training. Then they move to the Alphajet.

A request for tenders has started for the phase IV of the training of future French fighter pilots on 15 February 2020. Currently this consists of 50 flying hours on the Alphajet (see picture below) at Cazaux. The PC-21 has been in use now for some time and has proven to be a much more affordable solution. For example, a flight hour on the PC-21 is around 1.500 EUR compared to around 7.800 for the Alphajet.

The exact number of extra PC-21s is not specified. The number eight however, is suggested in a report for the Air Force for 2020:
http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/…/…/p ... 05-tVI.asp…

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