Pilatus Aircraft (W930) will supply the Bulgarian ministry of defence with six PC-12 training aircraft with an option to supply a further six, taking the aircraft into the military arena for the first time.
The six firm orders are worth more than SF50 million ($64 million).
The Bulgarian air force intends to use the PC-12 to move military personnel from Afghanistan to Iraq as well as training its pilots in Europe.
Jim Roche, Pilatus vice-president, business unit government aviation, says the project has had an extremely quick lead time. The Bulgarians "are quite excited that they will get the first aircraft by the end of this month – in fact they'll have it just before Christmas," he says, adding that such a quick turnaround is unusual.
"The usual delivery time for a PC-12 is four to six months. On this occasion we made a special effort for the customer because of the needs they are facing in the short term.
"With our supply pipeline, we were able to accommodate a very short delivery time on this aircraft. It's abnormally fast but I'm glad to say we were able to give the MOD what they wanted."
Roche is happy to see the aircraft, which is traditionally used in a civil role, being used for a military application.
"The PC 12 is the most cost-effective way of moving people around and we're glad to have the opportunity to complete this project. As well as expanding our fleet and it gives us a major opportunity to develop the PC-12 into the air forces – from a governmental role into a more military role – which is something we want to do."
Source: Flight Daily News
