Navy narrows trainer competition
- Lockheed Martin said April 23 it is quitting the U.S. Navy’s Undergraduate Jet Training System contest, cutting the field to Boeing, Sierra Nevada Corp., and Textron Aviation Defense with Leonardo. - The Navy’s March 26 solicitation seeks as many as 216 T-45 replacements, caps engineering and manufacturing development at about $1.75 billion, and targets a contract award in March 2027. - The program drops carrier-style touchdown training in the aircraft and shifts more of that work to simulators, speeding a long-delayed T-45 replacement effort. (aviationweek.com)
The U.S. Navy’s next trainer competition just got smaller: Lockheed Martin exited on April 23, leaving three bidders to replace the T-45 Goshawk. (aviationweek.com) (breakingdefense.com) Lockheed had teamed with Korea Aerospace Industries to offer a navalized T-50 called the TF-50N. The company said it withdrew after a “careful analysis” of the solicitation. (aviationweek.com) (breakingdefense.com) Breaking Defense reported Lockheed told the outlet the bid was not the best fit because of required U.S. content and “other reasons.” The company did not detail those reasons publicly. (breakingdefense.com) That leaves Boeing with the T-7A Red Hawk, Textron Aviation Defense and Leonardo with the Beechcraft M-346N, and Sierra Nevada Corp. with its clean-sheet Freedom Trainer. (aviationweek.com) (boeing.com) (defense.txtav.com) (sncorp.com) The contest formally opened when Naval Air Systems Command released the final request for proposals on March 26, 2026. The Navy plans to buy 216 aircraft and says it expects an engineering and manufacturing development award in March 2027. (aviationweek.com 1) (aviationweek.com 2) The money is tightly fenced. Aviation Week reported the solicitation sets a not-to-exceed engineering and manufacturing development price of about $1.751 billion, including up to seven low-rate initial production aircraft and training systems. (aviationweek.com 1) (aviationweek.com 2) The biggest requirement change is what the new jet will not do. Unlike the T-45, the Undergraduate Jet Training System aircraft will not have to practice full field carrier landing practice touchdowns. (aviationweek.com) (breakingdefense.com) Instead, Naval Air Systems Command told Aviation Week that touchdown training will be handled through other parts of a broader training system, including modern simulators and augmented reality tools. Some students already make their first carrier landings in operational squadrons. (aviationweek.com) That change is aimed at speeding replacement of a fleet that has had years of reliability trouble. Aviation Week said the T-45 has faced extensive issues, including multiple engine-related groundings. (aviationweek.com) The remaining bidders are making different cases. Textron and Leonardo are selling the M-346N as a proven, U.S.-assembled trainer, Boeing is pitching the Air Force’s digitally designed T-7A, and Sierra Nevada is arguing for a purpose-built Navy aircraft. (defense.txtav.com) (boeing.com) (sncorp.com) The Navy now has a simpler field, a fixed budget ceiling, and a March 2027 target. After years of debate over how much carrier practice belongs in undergraduate training, the service is buying a system as much as an airplane. (aviationweek.com 1) (aviationweek.com 2)
