United States at
Millington-Memphis Airport The T-6A was introduced to
Moody Air Force Base and
Randolph Air Force Base in 2000–2001, and the Air Force awarded the full-rate T-6 production contract in December 2001.
Laughlin Air Force Base began flying the T-6 in 2003, where it became the primary basic trainer, replacing the T-37.
Vance Air Force Base completed transitioning from the T-37 to the T-6 in 2006. That year,
Columbus Air Force Base began its transition, and retired its last T-37 in April 2008. The last active USAF T-37Bs were retired at
Sheppard Air Force Base in the summer of 2009. aircraft, right, with the new T-6 Texan II at Randolph AFB, Texas, in 2007 The Texan failed to qualify for the
Light Attack/Armed Reconnaissance program, because the USAF mailed the exclusion notice to the wrong address, leaving the company with no time to protest the decision, but the official mail failure gave Hawker-Beechcraft a further legal justification, as they had told the USAF they planned to file a legal challenge even before the official notice had been mailed and brought its considerable political influence to bear against the USAF decision against their candidate, with one
Kansas Congressman stating, "It is simply wrong for the Obama administration to hire a Brazilian company to handle national security when we have a qualified and competent American company that can do the job." In 2013, Beechcraft again lost the bid. In August 2017, the Air Force conducted the "Light Attack Experiment" to evaluate potential light-attack aircraft. Following this, it decided to continue experimenting with two nondevelopmental aircraft, the AT-6 Wolverine derivative of the T-6 Texan II and the Sierra Nevada/
Embraer A-29 Super Tucano. Tests were scheduled to be conducted at
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, between May and July 2018. The tests were intended "to experiment with maintenance, data networking, and sensors...[to] gather the data needed for a rapid procurement", according to
Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson. Experimentation was to examine logistics requirements, weapons and sensor issues, and future interoperability with partner forces. During the last week of January 2018, a cluster of unexplained physiological events involving the T-6 occurred at
Columbus, Vance, and Sheppard Air Force Bases. In response, the commander of
Nineteenth Air Force, which is responsible for USAF pilot training, directed an "operational pause" in Texan II operations on 1 February 2018 to ensure aircrew safety. The pause was intended to enable the Air Force to "examine the root causes of the incidents, educate and listen to aircrew, [and] develop and deliver mitigation solutions." The Air Force had established a general officer-led team to integrate and co-ordinate efforts across the Air Force to address aircrew's unexplained physiological events earlier in 2018. In February 2018, the AT-6 Wolverine and the A-29 Super Tucano were named as the only two remaining aircraft in USAF's Light Attack/Armed Reconnaissance aircraft competition. In March 2020, the USAF placed a $70.2 million order for two AT-6E Wolverine aircraft. The first Wolverine was delivered to the USAF in February 2021. The Wolverines were operated by the
81st Fighter Squadron. In June 2022, the two aircraft were returned to Beechcraft. In July 2022, the Wolverine received military
type certification from the USAF. In September 2023, the two Wolverines were transferred from storage at Beechcraft to the
United States Naval Test Pilot School.
Canada The CT-156 Harvard II is a variant used for pilot instruction in the
NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC), located at 15 Wing,
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. They are leased to the Royal Canadian Air Force by the program's administrator,
CAE. NFTC's Harvard II aircraft are almost identical in cockpit layout and performance to the American JPATS Texan IIs. Within NFTC, students fly the Harvard II in phases 2 and 3 of the training program, and some were to go on to fly the
CT-155 Hawk jet trainer also used by NFTC for phase 4 (Moose Jaw) and phase 5 fighter lead-in training (4 Wing, Cold Lake, Alberta). NFTC had 25 Harvard II aircraft owned and maintained by Bombardier, although one was lost following a nonfatal crash in 2014, and another in 2017. CAE took over the program in 2015.
Greece Daedalus Display Team T-6 Texan II at the 2015
Malta International Airshow The
Hellenic Air Force operates 25 T-6A and 20 T-6A NTA aircraft.
Israel On 9 June 2008, the
Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced a possible
foreign military sale to Israel of 25 T-6As for the
Israeli Air Force. In July 2009, Beechcraft delivered the first four of 20 T-6As under contract to the Israeli Air Force.
Iraq On 16 December 2009, the first four of 15 T-6A aircraft were delivered to
Tikrit, Iraq, under a $210 million contract. No AT-6 aircraft were included as was previously reported. The last four T-6As reached Iraq on 9 November 2010. On 13 May 2014, the
US State Department approved an order for 24 T-6C aircraft for use as trainers by the Iraqi Air Force. The sale was worth US$790 million and was part of a larger $1 billion deal.
Morocco In October 2009, Hawker Beechcraft announced the sale of 24 T-6Cs for the
Royal Moroccan Air Force.
Mexico On 9 January 2012, Mexico purchased six T-6C+ aircraft for the
Mexican Air Force to begin replacing their
Pilatus PC-7 trainers. On 24 October 2013, Hawker Beechcraft announced a follow-on order of an additional six T-6C+ aircraft for the Mexican Air Force, bringing the total ordered to 12. The Mexican Navy also ordered two T-6C+ trainers in March 2014.
New Zealand The New Zealand government announced the purchase of 11 T-6Cs for the
Royal New Zealand Air Force for NZ$154 million, on 27 January 2014, to replace the
PAC CT/4 Airtrainer, with all aircraft delivered by February 2015. The first training course using the type began early 2016. The T-6Cs are expected to remain in service with the RNZAF for 30 years. The contract for ten aircraft was signed by Affinity Flying Training Services and Beechcraft Defense on 4 February 2016. The T-6C trainers have replaced Short Tucano T1 aircraft.
Argentina In October 2017, the
Argentine Air Force received the first four of 12 T-6C+ aircraft purchased from Textron Aviation and a further two in June 2018.
Tunisia In October 2019, U.S. State Department approved the possible foreign military sale of 12 T-6Cs to Tunisia at an estimated cost of $234 million (~$ in ), including related spares, ground support equipment, and support. The sale is intended to provide replacement for the aging trainer fleet of
Tunisian Air Force and to train pilots for counterterrorism and border-security missions.
Japan In December 2024, the
Japanese Air Self-Defense Force announced it had selected the T-6 to replace its aging
Fuji T-7 trainer aircraft. In January 2025, Textron released a statement confirming the sale. Initially, the T-6C variant reportedly was chosen, but the order was actually for the T-6JP, an export version specifically for Japan. The number of aircraft ordered has not been revealed, but is speculated to be fewer than 49. The deal also includes ground-based training systems, training for airmen, and long-term support for operations. ==Variants==