T-6 Texan II trainers deepen their footprint in Asia
Japan is buying 36 T-6JP Texan II trainer aircraft from the US. Shown here is a T-6C belonging to New Zealand. (Photo: Gordon Arthur)
The T-6 Texan II from Textron Aviation Defense has been selected by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), along with associated ground training equipment, as its new basic trainer aircraft.
Chuck Gummow, Asia-Pacific regional director for new aircraft sales at Textron Aviation Defense, told Shephard at the Vietnam Defence Expo 2024 in Hanoi that Japan would obtain a trainer variant called the T-6JP, which builds upon the baseline of the T-6C.
This configuration will feature certain modifications compared to the current T-6C export model, these being in common with a new-generation T-6 variant expected to be announced by Textron next
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