In July, the U.S. government notified the House Foreign Affairs Committee of a proposal to transfer four T-1A Jayhawk training aircraft to Peru through the Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
It is worth noting that earlier this year, the U.S. government made a similar proposal to transfer four T-1A Jayhawk aircraft to Uruguay. The Excess Defense Articles program involves the transfer of surplus defense articles from the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Coast Guard that are no longer needed. This program is one of the many tools Washington uses to provide military assistance to allied and friendly nations.
This potential addition would be significant for the Peruvian Armed Forces, as they currently do not have a twin-engine jet training aircraft. Given their capabilities, the Jayhawks could also serve as short-range transport aircraft.
The T-1A Jayhawk is a twin-engine, advanced jet trainer with medium range used by the U.S. Air Force during the advanced phase of specialized training for future pilots selected to fly transport or refueling aircraft. “…It is also used to support the training of navigators for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and U.S. international services…”. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force also uses them for training under the designation T-400.
The Jayhawk is the military variant of the Beech 400A. The U.S. Air Force began incorporating them in 1992, with over 140 aircraft in total. As part of plans to optimize its fleet, the USAF announced the decision to retire up to 52 T-1A Jayhawk aircraft during 2024, a move that faced strong opposition in Congress. Lawmakers argued that the aircraft are not only needed until the new training program is certified, but could also be a solution to delays in the new advanced trainer T-7A.
You may also like: The Peruvian Army publicly presents its ARAD 7 assault rifles
