Instructor pilots have begun flying the CT-102B Astra II turboprop at Canada’s 15 Wing Moose Jaw flight training base in Saskatchewan.
The Royal Canadian Air Force has begun operations with its first Grob G120TP turboprop, which will serve as the new basic training aircraft for Canadian military pilots.
Painted in the service’s distinctive yellow-and-blue trainer livery, two of the single-engined types – operated locally as the CT-102B Astra II – were wheeled out of a hangar at the Saskatchewan base known as 15 Wing Moose Jaw on 20 April. Moose Jaw is home to both the RCAF’s flight training school and the NATO Flying Training in Canada programme through which allied officers receive instruction.
Instructor pilots logged the inaugural CT-102B flight at 15 Wing the same day the turboprop was unveiled.
“Before student pilots take the seat, our instructors are hitting the skies to develop the courses that will shape the future of Canada’s air force,” the RCAF says.
The two officers notably climbed into the side-by-side cockpit wearing parachutes.
The new fleet of 23 G120TPs are replacing the RCAF’s current introductory flight trainer – the Grob G120A, which is designated the CT-102A Astra in Canadian service. The first two examples were delivered to the RCAF in September.
According to the RCAF, the new Astra II trainer offers faster speeds, a higher operating ceiling and improved flight performance compared to its predecessor. These traits will “help prepare pilots to fly the sophisticated Royal Canadian Air Force aircraft of today and the future”, the service says.
Canada is in the midst of a complete overhaul of its military fleet, pursuing a new frontline tactical fighter, maritime patrol jets, uncrewed aerial vehicles, new tactical helicopters and an expanded inventory of modernised tankers.
In addition to the array of new frontline aircraft, the RCAF is revamping its entire trainer fleet under the Future Aircrew Training (FAcT) programme, which covers more than 70 aircraft across five different types, including the Pilatus PC-21 for advanced flight training, the Airbus H135 for rotary-wing instruction, the Beechcraft King Air 260 for multi-engine certification and the De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 for training operators of airborne electronic systems.
The SkyAlyne consortium of CAE and KF Aerospace secured the FAcT contract in 2024 at a value of more than C$11 billion ($8 billion).
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