Three companies have declared their intent to bid for the U.S. Navy jet trainer requirement. Boeing and Lockheed Martin confirmed on 10 August that they are to compete the service’s Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) programme to replace the Boeing T-45 Goshawk, while Leonardo had previously announced its intention to bid, learned GDC citing Janes Magazine.
Boeing responded that it would put forward its T-7A Red Hawk, noting, “Boeing is always ready to support the US Navy in its training missions”. Lockheed Martin announced that it would offer the T-50A aircraft with support from co-developer Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), saying, “We offered modest modifications to the baseline T-50A aircraft to meet the requirements identified in the U.S. Navy’s request for information”. Leonardo had not responded to a request for information at the time of publication, but had publicly declared its intent to bid the M-346 Master at the Sea-Air-Space 2021 event earlier in August.
The T-7A beat the South Korean T-50A and Italian Leonardo M-346 Master for the Air Force’s T-X requirement. The M-346 is the Leonardo entrant for the Navy trainer competition, the Italian firm’s bid being formally announced at the Sea Air Space 2021 maritime exposition, which took place from August 2-4, at the Gaylord National Convention Center, Maryland.
Beyond these three, BAE Systems was noncommittal on whether or not it would offer its Hawk AJT, saying only “Our primary focus remains on supporting the T-45 Goshawk’s readiness and availability through the production of spare components and providing engineering expertise. We remain committed to supporting the US Navy and continue to collaborate with our partners on supporting future requirements”.
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