A contract was awarded to Textron Aviation Defense LLC of Wichita Kansas, on August 12 by the US Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Legacy Training Aircraft Division, International Branch, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, for three T-6C Texan II aircraft.

The $43,840,202 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-reimbursement contract covers procurement, support and supply of the aircraft, along with a site survey, ground support equipment, two spare engines, spare parts, personal life support equipment, external fuel tanks and pylons, aircraft ferry and support, and country specific technical orders. Work will be performed at the manufacturer’s facility in Wichita, Kansas, is expected to be complete by September 30, 2024.

The US Department of Defense announcement stated that the contract involved pseudo-Foreign Military Sales (FMS) but did not specify the country involved. The pseudo-FMS process uses the standard FMS procedural framework but instead of selling defence articles to a customer country, the US funds the purchase and transfer using its own appropriated funds. In this case, fiscal year 2021 Building Partnership Capacity funds are being used to finance the purchase. The pseudo-FMS method is designed to arm US allies and friendly nations that may lack financial resources and also to do so more rapidly than through traditional FMS procedures.