On Monday morning a white and red turboprop lifted off from Buochs, the airfield tucked under the mountains next to Pilatus’s factory in Stans, and flew a first sortie over central Switzerland. It carried the Swiss test registration HB-HCA and construction number 1001. In Dutch service it will be L-001.

That is the first production Pilatus PC-7 MKX, and it belongs to the Royal Netherlands Air Force — the launch customer for a basic trainer that three NATO air forces have now ordered before a single one has been delivered.

It is easy to be sniffy about trainers. Nobody makes a poster of one. But almost every fast-jet pilot in Europe starts on an aircraft like this, and what the MKX does differently is push things that used to be reserved for advanced training all the way down to a student’s first hours.

A glass cockpit on day one

The headline system is the avionics. The MKX runs Garmin G3000 PRIME, which Pilatus says is the first time the G3000 has been integrated into a military aircraft, with military user-defined displays built for the role. The student sits in front of a large primary flight display flanked by two multi-function displays carrying moving map and navigation, the flight management system, and engine indications and crew alerting.

The point is not the pixel count. The point is that a student on their first solo is already working in the same information environment they will meet on a front-line type, and that mission planning and debriefing tools which normally appear at the advanced stage are introduced at the basic one. Options include synthetic vision, traffic advisory, autopilot, a cockpit camera and a mission debriefing system.

The other detail worth pausing on: Martin-Baker ejection seats, fitted as standard. Pilatus claims the MKX is the only trainer in its class that has them. On a basic trainer that is not a given — and it changes what instructors can let students attempt.

Deliberately not the most powerful thing on the ramp

Under the cowling is a single Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-25C rated at 700 shaft horsepower — the same rating as the PC-7 Mk II, and deliberately not the highest output the PT6A family can give. That is a cost decision as much as a performance one: lower fuel burn, lower cost per flying hour, and a training system an air force can actually afford to run for decades. Pilatus guarantees a structural life of at least 30 years on a conventional aluminium semi-monocoque airframe.

The MKX is a new design rather than a rebuild of existing aircraft, though it descends visibly from the PC-7 Mk II. It was first shown in public as a demonstrator at the Dubai Airshow in November 2021. HB-HCA is the first one built to a customer order.

The first flight of the Royal Netherlands Air Force PC-7 MKX.

Thirty-eight years of Dutch Pilatus

The Netherlands has been flying Pilatus basic trainers since 1988. Thirteen PC-7 Turbo Trainers have taken Dutch students through elementary military pilot training at Woensdrecht air base for nearly four decades, and the reason they are going is the unglamorous one: airframes and simulators reaching the end of their technical service life.

The replacement stays at Woensdrecht, with the EMVO school — Elementaire Militaire Vlieger Opleiding. What changes is that the aircraft arrive as part of a package rather than on their own: eight jets, four full-flight simulators, and a ground-based training environment with interactive wallboards, virtual and augmented reality modules and mission planning software. The Dutch competitive tender ran through COMMIT, the defence materiel and IT command, and closed in Pilatus’s favour in October 2024.

The contract value has never been published, so anyone quoting one is guessing.

France and Belgium got there too

Bucher’s line about other air forces following has aged well in eighteen months. France ordered 22 MKX under its Mentor 2 programme, contracted through Babcock International France Aviation, with a head-up display specified for cockpit commonality with the French PC-21 fleet at Cognac. Belgium approved 18 in November 2025 on a 20-year service contract with Belgian partners, replacing SF-260s that in some cases have been flying for around 55 years, with training due to start in 2028.

That is 48 aircraft across three NATO air forces for a type that has not yet delivered one. For a company in a valley in Nidwalden that also builds the PC-12 and PC-24, and whose PC-7 lineage runs back to a production first flight in August 1978 and more than 20 air-force operators, it is a fairly comfortable position to be in.

The Swiss Air Force, meanwhile, still flies the original. If you have watched the nine red aircraft of the PC-7 TEAM over Axalp or Payerne, you have seen where this line came from. The MKX is what it looks like when that idea is rebuilt around a screen.

Preguntas frecuentes

When did the Pilatus PC-7 MKX make its first flight?

The first production PC-7 MKX flew on 7 September 2026 from Buochs airfield, next to Pilatus’s site at Stans in the Swiss canton of Nidwalden. The aircraft carries construction number 1001 and the Swiss test registration HB-HCA, and will become L-001 in Royal Netherlands Air Force service. A separate demonstrator airframe had been flying since its public debut at the Dubai Airshow in November 2021.

How many PC-7 MKX has the Netherlands ordered?

Eight aircraft, together with four full-flight simulators and a ground-based training suite. The contract was signed on 7 February 2025 following a competitive tender run by COMMIT, the Dutch defence materiel and IT command, that concluded in October 2024. The contract value has not been made public.

When will the Dutch PC-7 MKX be delivered?

The first aircraft is due in May 2027, with all eight aircraft, the four simulators and the training equipment complete by September 2027. Production of the Dutch aircraft began at Stans on 23 February 2026.

What engine does the PC-7 MKX have?

A single Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-25C turboprop rated at 700 shaft horsepower — the same rating as the PC-7 Mk II, and deliberately below the maximum the PT6A family can deliver, in order to reduce fuel burn and cost per flying hour.

What is the Garmin G3000 PRIME in the PC-7 MKX?

It is the aircraft’s integrated glass cockpit, and Pilatus states it is the first military integration of the Garmin G3000, with military user-defined displays. It presents three screens: a large primary flight display and two multi-function displays carrying moving map and navigation, the flight management system, and engine indications and crew alerting. Optional additions include synthetic vision, traffic advisory, autopilot, a cockpit camera and a mission debriefing system.

What does the PC-7 MKX replace in the Netherlands?

Thirteen Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainers, in Royal Netherlands Air Force service since 1988. Both the outgoing and incoming fleets are based at Woensdrecht air base, home of the EMVO elementary military pilot training school. The PC-7s are being retired because the airframes and their simulators are reaching the end of their technical service life.

Which other countries have ordered the PC-7 MKX?

France has ordered 22 aircraft under its Mentor 2 programme, contracted through Babcock International France Aviation and specified with a head-up display for commonality with the French PC-21 fleet. Belgium approved 18 aircraft in November 2025 under a 20-year service contract, replacing its SF-260 trainers, with training due to begin in 2028. With the Dutch eight, that is 48 aircraft across three NATO air forces.

Does the PC-7 MKX have ejection seats?

Yes. Martin-Baker ejection seats are fitted as standard, and Pilatus states the MKX is the only trainer in its class to have them. On a basic trainer that is unusual, and it affects what instructors are willing to let students attempt.

Sources: Pilatus Aircraft press releases and technical data; Netherlands Ministry of Defence; FlightGlobal; Militär Aktuell; Shephard Media; Aviation Week.