SkyAlyne and Pilatus sign contract to provide Royal Canadian Air Force with 19 PC-21 trainer aircraft

Pilatus has signed a contract with KF Aerospace as part of its collaboration with SkyAlyne on the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Future Aircrew Training (FAcT) program. The agreement includes the delivery of nineteen state-of-the-art PC-21 trainer aircrafts.

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The contract, executed by KF Aerospace as SkyAlyne’s prime subcontractor for the FAcT program, guarantees production slots with aircraft deliveries expected from the second half of 2026. The contract also includes the supply by Pilatus of various support equipment, such as mission planning and debriefing systems, and training material.

Markus Bucher, CEO of Pilatus, commented as follows on this important new contract: “This contract is further proof of the capabilities of our PC-21 training system. Canada ranks amongst the world’s most renowned and professional air forces, and we‘re very proud to be part of this groundbreaking project. We‘re very much looking forward to working with our partners and we can assure everyone of our commitment to providing Canada with the best training system and the best possible customer support. We‘d like to thank everyone for their confidence in Pilatus and the PC-21, our Next Generation Trainer made in Switzerland!”.

The nineteen PC-21s will be stationed at Moose Jaw Air Force Base, Saskatchewan. They will be used primarily to provide advanced training for aspiring military pilots.

Currently, the worldwide fleet of PC-21s totals just under 250 units. Customers include the world’s major air forces in Europe, the Middle and Far East and Australia. The Swiss Air Force adopted the PC-21 in 2008 and has since used it to successfully train future military pilots.

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Future Aircrew Training program

The 25-year FAcT program is currently in a five-year transition period to become the RCAF’s sole pilot and aircrew training program as the RCAF’s three current separate training programs conclude and their responsibilities are combined into FAcT. The FAcT program is overseen from a Joint Management Office at SkyAlyne’s headquarters in Ottawa, with three operational bases: Moose Jaw (SK), Southport (MB) and Winnipeg (MB).

With the agreement reached with Pilatus, the SkyAlyne team has signed three contracts so far this month for the acquisition of aircraft needed to fulfill FAcT program responsibilities. On Nov. 4, they signed with Airbus Helicopters for the purchase of 19 H135 helicopters, and on Nov. 19, they acquired 23 Grob G 120TP basic trainer aircraft.