Pilatus has completed the maiden flight of the Royal Netherlands Air Force’s initial PC – 7 MKX trainer aircraft at Buochs Airfield in Switzerland.
The system is the first of eight ordered by the Dutch procurement authority in February 2025 to replace the military’s legacy PC – 7 fleet, in service since the 1980s.
The contract includes four full – flight simulators and a ground-based training suite featuring virtual reality tools, mission planning software, and interactive displays.
Deliveries of the platforms are scheduled to begin in May 2027 and conclude by September 2027 at Woensdrecht Air Base near the Netherlands’ border with Belgium.
‘New Standard’
Amsterdam became the launch customer for PC – 7 MKX following an October 2024 national strategy to procure weapons, gunships, and ground platforms as part of the Netherlands Armed Forces’ ongoing modernization.
Once operational, the new planes will assist in the air force’s Elementary Military Pilot Training, which prepares aviators for basic lessons prior to moving forward to advanced courses.
Up to 60 students are expected to log approximately 2,150 flight hours and 500 simulator hours annually using the latest PC – 7 systems.
“This marks the beginning of a new era of basic flight training in the Netherlands, which will set a new standard that other air forces will seek to follow,” Pilatus Aircraft CEO Markus Bucher said during the contract signing last year.
Digitized PC – 7
The PC – 7 MKX is powered by a single 700 – horsepower Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A – 25C turboprop engine and features a Garmin G3000 PRIME glass cockpit with three high – definition touchscreen displays and an optional head – up display.
It is equipped with standard Martin-Baker ejection seats, carries a fuel capacity of 474 liters (125 gallons), and is supported by a 2 – meter (7 – foot) Hartzell three – blade propeller.
The 10 – meter (33 – foot) plane can fly up to 300 knots (556 kilometers / 345 miles per hour), reach a ceiling of 25,000 feet (7,620 meters), and cover a range of 1,420 nautical miles (2,630 kilometers / 1,634 miles).
Since its introduction, the airframe has also been selected by France and Belgium, bringing total NATO orders for the system to 48 units.
- The Defense Post