Navy Slips Trainer Jet Award to June 2027
The UJTS competition loses two major bidders and its third deadline—while the program quietly rethinks how it trains carrier aviators.
By The Defense Desk
The U.S. Navy has pushed the award date for its Undergraduate Jet Training System to June 30, 2027—moving from the March 2027 target—while simultaneously extending the proposal submission window to Oct. 30, 2026. [1]
It is the second deadline extension for the program: the Navy originally set a July 2026 submission deadline before moving it to September, and now to October. [1] The UJTS is meant to replace the T-45 Goshawk fleet, which has trained Navy and Marine Corps aviators for carrier aviation and tactical strike missions since the early 1990s. [1]
The field has narrowed sharply. Lockheed Martin announced in April it would not put forth its TF-50N offer with Korea Aerospace Industries, and Boeing announced in June it would also exit the competition. [1] That leaves two remaining bidders: Textron Aviation Defense with the Beechcraft M-346N in partnership with Leonardo, and SNC offering its Freedom trainer alongside Northrop Grumman and General Atomics. [1]
The program's requirements have also shifted. The Navy is no longer requiring the new jet to land on aircraft carriers—a departure from the T-45's role—and has said it isn't requiring the new aircraft to support field carrier landing practice to touch down, which aims to simulate a carrier landing on an airfield runway. [1] Instead, competitors must support FCLP to wave off and detail "unique aircraft simulation capabilities" to prepare aviators to land on carriers. [1]
The combination of a shrinking competitor pool, repeated schedule slips, and a redefined mission profile signals that the Navy is still working out what it actually wants from the next generation of pilot training.
With only two teams left standing and a contract award now nearly a year away, the UJTS program is shaping up as a two-horse race for a contract that could define how the Navy produces carrier pilots for decades. [1]
unique aircraft simulation capabilitiesNavy UJTS Request for Proposal