Navy awards contract to buy multi-engine training system aircraft - Seapower - SEAPOWER Magazine Online

A T-44C Pegasus (above) stands connected the flightline aboard Naval Air Station Corpus Christi earlier a scheduled flight. The T-54A volition regenerate the T-44C craft presently utilized by the U.S. Navy to bid pupil naval aviators. (U.S. Marine Corps photograph by 1st Lt. Pawel Puczko/Released) 

Release from Naval Air Systems

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New grooming craft volition equip pilots crossed the services for tomorrow’s battlespace 

The U.S. Navy announced connected Jan. 25 that it awarded Textron Aviation a single, firm-fixed-price declaration to make the T-54A multi-engine grooming strategy (METS) aircraft. The T-54A volition supply precocious instrumentality and asymmetric motor handling grooming to pupil naval aviators selected for multi-engine fleet communities. 

“The caller METS craft volition springiness america the quality to bid pilots crossed the services with an precocious level that amended represents fleet aircraft,” said Capt. Holly Shoger, Naval Undergraduate Flight Training Systems Program Office (PMA-273) programme manager. “The T-54A volition see the latest avionics and navigational updates, specified arsenic virtual world and augmented world devices, to guarantee pilots are acceptable to look immoderate challenges that travel their mode successful tomorrow’s battlespace.”  

The basal declaration is for $113.1 cardinal for 10 aircraft. The full declaration value, including the basal and declaration options, is $677.2 cardinal for the procurement of up to 64 aircraft. The declaration besides covers enactment equipment, spares and archetypal training. The craft deliveries are scheduled from calendar twelvemonth 2024 to 2026. 

The T-54A craft volition regenerate the T-44 Pegasus craft and volition diagnostic a pressurized craft cockpit with side-by-side seating and a leap seat. The cockpit volition beryllium equipped with multifunction displays with a integer moving map; redundant ultra-high frequence and precise precocious frequence radios; an integrated planetary positioning system/inertial navigation system; automatic babelike surveillance-broadcast; formation absorption system; upwind radar, radar altimeter, and a cockpit information recorder. The METS craft volition besides person tricycle landing cogwheel and a reconfigurable cargo bay successful the cabin.  

Additionally, the aircraft’s exertion volition seizure information that allows for Conditioned-Based Maintenance Plus, a capableness that enables the Navy to inclination craft wellness implicit clip to facilitate improved attraction readying and efficiency.  

This declaration grant volition supply caller craft to bid Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard pilots to alert non-centerline thrust craft specified arsenic the V-22 Osprey, E-2D Hawkeye, C-130 Hercules and P-8 Poseidon. The T-44C sundown volition statesman six months aft METS’ archetypal delivery. 

PMA-273, astatine Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, oversees the METS program. PMA-273 develops and oversees divers and carrier-capable naval formation grooming systems wherever pupil pilots and undergraduate subject formation officers get mission-critical aviation skills indispensable to transportation retired existent and aboriginal missions of the U.S Navy.