Lockheed Martin Aircraft Argentina (LMAA) has rolled out the first upgraded AT-63 Pampa advanced trainer/light attack aircraft for the Argentine air force. Flight testing is not expected to begin until mid-year, but the Cordoba-based manufacturer has already started upgrading 12 aircraft and building 12 new AT-63s, writes Graham Warwick.
The update of Argentina's indigenously developed IA-63 Pampa jet trainer includes an Elbit-supplied weapon system, a head-up display, mission computers and a 1553B databus. The upgrade gives the AT-63 a cockpit representative of modern fighters, says LMAA president Alberto Buthet.
The company will upgrade Argentina's 12 Pampas for redelivery by 2006, with six of the new AT-63s set for delivery to its air force in 2007. The other six will be promoted for sale to Argentina or another country.
LMAA has an agreement to upgrade the Argentine airforce's transport aircraft fleet, including Lockheed Martin C-130s, by 2007-8 to meet civil aerospace standards.
Source: Flight International
