The Indian Air Force (IAF) has taken the delivery of the 75th PC-7 Basic Trainer Aircraft (BTA), but a deal for 38 additional planes is delayed as talks remain inconclusive.
BTA is used for Stage I flying in the three-stage training schedule of the IAF for rookie pilots.
India signed a deal with Pilatus of Switzerland in 2012 for 75 PC-7 MkII aircraft in a Rs. 4,000-crore deal. The first aircraft was delivered in February 2013 and the entire delivery completed in 42 months. “We are extremely pleased to have completed the delivery of all PC-7 MkII trainer aircraft well ahead of the original IAF schedule requirement,” said Jim Roche, vice-president, Government Aviation, and Deputy CEO, Pilatus.
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) had in February cleared the procurement of 38 additional aircraft as the IAF decided to exercise the follow-on order. However, officials told The Hindu that the progress for a final deal has been delayed due to differences in fulfilling the offset requirements on the part of Pilatus.
Though the acquisition process was dogged by controversies, Air Force officials expressed satisfaction with the aircraft which had helped the force rewrite the entire training procedure. Since the first delivery in February 2013, the PC-7 MkII fleet has flown more than 40,000 hours and accumulated well over 80,000 landings. The PC-7 MkII has enabled the IAF to increase the basic training syllabus in terms of flight hours by 220 per cent compared to previous operations and also increase the solo content from 1 to 14 sorties.
While the Air Force has a requirement for 181 BTAs, the remaining number will be fulfilled by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which is working on a BTA expected to fly in 2016.
The second stage training is done on Kiran trainers and the third stage on the BAE Hawk Advanced jet Trainers before the trainees move on to fly supersonic fighter jets.
