UK MFTS fleet complete

With the arrival of the inal Beechcraft T-6C Texan at RAF Valley, Anglesey on December 3, 2018, the United Kingdom’s Military Flying Training System (MFTS) fleet is complete.

The Elbit Systems UK-KBR joint venture Ainity Flying Training Services programme has acquired 38 ixed-wing aircraft for MFTS, ten T-6Cs, of which ZM332 (c/n PM-130) was the last to be delivered, 23 Grob G120TP Prefect T1s and ive Embraer EMB100 Phenom T1s. One of the Phenoms was damaged in a mid-air collision with another of the type in July 2018 and is believed to have been withdrawn from use. The Prefects, Texans and Phenoms are used for elementary, basic and multiengine crew training respectively and join 27 Hawk T2 advanced jet trainers and four Airbus Helicopters H145 Jupiter and 28 H135 Juno helicopters, provided by the Ministry of Defence, in the MFTS fleet.

The UKMFTS programme is run by Ascent Flight Training Ltd, a joint venture between Babcock and Lockheed Martin as appointed by the UK MoD, and is on contract to deliver MFTS to all UK armed services until 2033.