The Finnish air force's first two of six Pilatus PC-12 NG liaison aircraft will arrive at its Tikkakoski air base on 8 July, one week after they had been accepted at the Swiss firm's Stans manufacturing plant.
Deliveries of the four remaining aircraft will be made by August, Pilatus says. The new fleet will replace the air force's six Piper Chieftains, which have been in use since 1983 and will be retired later this year.
Helsinki ordered its PC-12 NGs in April 2009 under a deal worth €22.5 million ($28.4 million). Likely to be in use for around 25 years, the single-engined aircraft will perform multiple tasks, including personnel and cargo transport duties.
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The air force's first pilots and maintainers began training on the aircraft in Switzerland in the second quarter of this year.
Source: Flight International
