Spartan Air Academy Iraq LLC, Irving, Texas, has been awarded a $14,769,952 firm-fixed-price modification to contract FA8617-20-C-6232 for the Iraq T-6A contractor logistics support and training maintenance program. The modification provides for the exercise of an option to extend the term of the contract for the continued services needed in order to effectively maintain and operate a fleet of 15 T-6A training aircraft. Work will be performed at Balad Air Base, Iraq, and is expected to be completed Dec. 31, 2020. This modification involves 100% Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to Iraq. FMS funds in the full amount will be obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity.
On 13 May 2014, the U.S. State Department approved an order for 24 T-6C aircraft for use as trainers by the Iraqi Air Force (IAF). The sale was worth US$790 million and was part of a larger one billion dollar deal. The Government of Iraq has requested a possible sale of 24 T-6A Texan aircraft, 20 Global Positioning Systems (GPS) with CMA-4124 GNSSA card and Embedded GPS/Inertial Navigation System (INS) spares, and other related elements of logistics support. The Iraq Air Force’s (IAF) current trainer fleet consists of Cessna 172 Skyhawks and Cessna 208B Caravans. The IAF needs to supplement or replace its current trainer fleet with these new aircraft to modernize its air force and to facilitate its transition to the AT-6 light-attack aircraft. The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.
The Beechcraft T-6 Texan II is a single-engine turboprop aircraft built by the Raytheon Aircraft Company (which became Hawker Beechcraft and later Beechcraft Defense Company, and was bought by Textron Aviation in 2014). A trainer aircraft based on the Pilatus PC-9, the T-6 has replaced the U.S. Air Force’s Cessna T-37B Tweet and the U.S. Navy’s T-34C Turbo Mentor. The T-6A is used by the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps for basic pilot training and Combat Systems Officer (CSO) training, and by the Royal Canadian Air Force, Greek Air Force, Israeli Air Force, and Iraqi Air Force for basic flight training. The T-6B is the primary trainer for U.S. student naval aviators (SNAs). The T-6C is used for training by the Mexican Air Force, Royal Air Force, Royal Moroccan Air Force, and the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
Spartan Air Academy Iraq, LLC, is an affiliate of Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology, which has campuses in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Broomfield (Denver), Colorado; Los Angeles, California; and Riverside, California. Support from these affiliated Spartan organizations allow Spartan Iraq to help establish an air academy with access to top flight curriculum and training expertise. Spartan College’s flight campus in Tulsa has provided training since 2007 as part of the Coalition Air Force Transition Team (CAFTT) and Air Advisor Program (AAP). This program includes pilot and maintenance technician training for Cessna 172 and Cessna 208 aircraft, similar to the fleet of Cessna 172, Cessna 208 and Beechcraft T-6A aircraft expected to be used for training at the academy in Iraq.
