Beechcraft T - 6 Texan II The Beechcraft T - 6 Texan II is a single - engined turboprop aircraft built by the Raytheon Aircraft Company ( which became Hawker Beechcraft and is now Beechcraft Corporation ) . Based on the Pilatus PC - 9 , the T - 6A is used by the United States Air Force for basic pilot training and by the United States Navy for Primary and Intermediate Joint Naval Flight Officer ( NFO ) and Air Force Combat Systems Officer ( CSO ) training . It has replaced the Air Force ' s T - 37B Tweet and is replacing the Navy ' s T - 34C Turbo Mentor . The T - 6A is also used as a basic trainer by the Royal Canadian Air Force ( CT - 156 Harvard II ) , the German Air Force , the Greek Air Force , the Israeli Air Force ( " Efroni " ) , and the Iraqi Air Force . The T - 6C is used for training by the Royal Moroccan Air Force and the Mexican Air Force . Design and development . The T - 6 is a development of the Pilatus PC - 9 , modified significantly by Beechcraft in order to enter the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System ( JPATS ) competition in the 1990s . A similar arrangement between Pilatus and British Aerospace had also been in place for a Royal Air Force competition in the 1980s , although this competition selected the Short Tucano . The aircraft was designated under the 1962 United States Tri - Service aircraft designation system and named for the decades - earlier T - 6 Texan . The JPATS competition winning design was based on a commercial off the shelf Pilatus PC - 9 , with minor modifications . Additional requirements and conflicts between the Air Force and the Navy resulted in delays , cost increases ( from initial estimates of $ 3 . 9 to roughly $ 6 million per aircraft ) and a completely new aircraft that is 22 % or 1 , 100 lbs heavier than the Pilatus . On April 9 , 2007 the U . S . Department of Defense released their Selected Acquisition Reports , which reported that the T - 6 JPATS program was one of only eight programs cited for Congressional notification for 25 – 50 % cost overrun over initial estimates , which is referred to as a " Nunn - McCurdy Breach " after the Nunn - McCurdy Amendment . It is unusual for a program so far into full rate production to experience significant enough cost overruns to trigger this Congressional notification . The T - 6A was introduced to Moody Air Force Base and Randolph Air Force Base in 2000 - 2001 , and the Air Force awarded the full rate T - 6 production contract in December 2001 . Laughlin Air Force Base began flying the T - 6 in 2003 where it is now the primary basic trainer , replacing the T - 37 . Vance Air Force Base completed transitioning from the T - 37 to the T - 6 in 2006 . That year , Columbus Air Force Base began its transition , and retired its last T - 37 in April 2008 . The last active USAF T - 37Bs were retired at Sheppard Air Force Base in the Summer of 2009 . Operational history . The T - 6A also replaced all T - 34Cs with Training Air Wing SIX at Naval Air Station Pensacola in early 2005 . T - 6Bs have replaced all T - 34Cs as the primary trainer with Training Air Wing FIVE at NAS Whiting Field . Training Air Wing FOUR at NAS Corpus Christi will continue to operate the T - 34C as the primary trainer , with the arrival of their first T - 6B in 2012 . The Texan failed to qualify for the Light Attack / Armed Reconnaissance program , because the USAF mailed the exclusion notice to the wrong address , leaving the company with no time to protest the decision . But the official mail failure gave Hawker - Beechcraft a further legal justification , as they had told the USAF they planned to file a legal challenge even before the official notice had been mailed and brought its considerable political influence to bear against the USAF decision against their candidate with one Kansas Congressman stating " It is simply wrong for the Obama administration to hire a Brazilian company to handle national security when we have a qualified and competent American company that can do the job . " In 2013 , Beechcraft was once again the loser . The CT - 156 Harvard II is a variant used for pilot instruction in the NATO Flying Training in Canada ( NFTC ) . , located at 15 Wing , Moose Jaw , Saskatchewan . They are leased to the Royal Canadian Air Force by the program ' s administrator , Bombardier . NFTC ' s Harvard II aircraft are almost identical in cockpit layout and performance to the American JPATS Texan IIs . Within NFTC , students fly the Harvard II in Phase 2A and 2B of the training program , and some will go on to fly the CT - 155 Hawk jet trainer also used by NFTC for Phase 3 ( Moose Jaw ) and Phase 4 Fighter Lead - In Training ( 4 Wing , Cold Lake , Alberta ) . The NFTC has 25 Harvard II aircraft owned and maintained by Bombardier . The Hellenic Air Force operates 25 T - 6A and 20 T - 6A NTA aircraft . On 9 June 2008 , the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced a possible FMS sale to Israel of 25 T - 6As for the Israeli Air Force . In July 2009 , Beechcraft delivered the first four of 20 T - 6As under contract to the Israeli Air Force . On 16 December 2009 : The first 4 of 15 T - 6A aircraft are delivered to Iraq under a $ 210 million contract . No AT - 6 aircraft were included as was previously reported . This equates to an average of $ 14 million per aircraft with support and training included . The first 8 aircraft , purchased by the Government of Iraq , will arrive at Tikrit by the end of January 2010 . The last 7 , purchased by the United States , are expected by the end of December 2010 . On 9 January 2012 Hawker Beechcraft announced the sale of six T - 6C + aircraft to the Mexican Air Force to be delivered starting early 2012 and replacing the PC - 7 trainers used by the FAM . On 24 October 2013 Hawker Beechcraft announced a follow - on order of an additional six T - 6C + aircraft to the FAM , bringing the total ordered to 12 . In October 2009 , Hawker Beechcraft announced the sale of 24 T - 6Cs for the Royal Moroccan Air Force .