Qatar Emiri Air Force is to field a pair of Pilatus PC-24 light busines jets, the Swiss company revealed in its annual results publication on 22 April. The Pilatus PC-24 is a light business jet produced by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. Following the PC-12 single turboprop success, work on the jet started in 2007 for greater range and speed. The aircraft was introduced on 21 May 2013 and rolled out on 1 August 2014, with the maiden flight on 11 May 2015.
It is a low-wing cantilever cabin monoplane powered by two Williams FJ44-4A turbofans, each mounted in a nacelle on the side of the rear fuselage. It has a T-tail and a retractable tricycle landing gear. The aircraft is designed to operate from short and rough airstrips and incorporates an advanced wing design, with a large double-slotted flap system to achieve the necessary performance, having a stall speed of only 81 knots at the maximum landing weight.
With the PC-21 order from Spain signed at the end of January 2020, Pilatus achieved a very important goal towards securing the future. Starting this year, Pilatus will deliver a total of 24 PC-21s to the Spanish Air Force, the Ejército del Aire. The maiden flight of the first PC-21 for the Spanish Air Force has already taken place. The 50th was delivered by October 2019,[38] and the 100th by January 2021.
