Four CT-157 Siskin II aircraft touched down on the runway at 15 Wing Air Base in Moose Jaw Monday.

These particular planes aren’t the physical replacements for the Snowbirds. But they are the same type of aircraft that will eventually assume the mantle.

The four that have already arrived are reserved exclusively for training purposes. They are the first of 19 total planes that will be accumulated over the next few years to modernize the Royal Canadian Air Force’s training fleet.

The CT-114 Tutor Jets they will be replacing were over 60 years old in some cases. The Air Force says the upgrade is necessary.

“Having new aircraft reinvigorates our training streams, but more importantly it provides our young students and young aviators the opportunity to learn new technologies. We cannot remain stagnant in our training methodologies or the training or the tools that we use for training. So this is, without saying, it’s very, very important” acting Wing Commander Lt.-Col. Craig Cloete said Sunday.

Despite some criticism that the siskin 2s will change snowbirds identity – moving from a twin engine jet to a single-engine turbo-prop – Major Zachary Charbonneau says these new planes are the real deal.

“It flies like a jet. It’s an amazing aircraft. It rolls incredibly fast. It pulls plus 8 and minus 4g. Yeah, it’s kind of the f1 of trainers.”

And student pilots like Maxime Blouin are ready to take one for a spin “I’m really excited.  It’s going to help us train pilots for aircraft that we’re going to be flying in the future” he said.

But he’s going to have to wait. First, the instructors will have to get up to speed with the new planes and develop the training program, expected to be up and running sometime in 2027-2028..

The Ministry of Defense has said that the new Siskin II version of the Snowbirds will make their debut some time after 2030.