Navy's Trainer Jet Race Is Down to One

Sierra Nevada exits the UJTS competition, leaving Textron's M-346N as the de facto winner of a contract to replace the T-45 Goshawk.

By The Defense Desk

The U.S. Navy's search for a new undergraduate jet trainer has effectively become a solo act. Sierra Nevada Corporation confirmed it did not submit a bid by the Oct. 30 deadline, leaving Textron Aviation Defense and its M-346N as the only serious competitor standing. [1]

SNC cited the contract structure as the reason for walking away. "With great respect for the Navy and PMA-273, SNC could not responsibly bid the UJTS program under the current contract structure," the company said. [1]

The field had been thinning for months. Lockheed Martin announced in April it would not submit its TF-50N offering with Korea Aerospace Industries. Boeing followed in June. [1]

Textron confirmed it submitted its M-346N offering and is "ready to support the U.S. Navy and its future training needs." Barring a reopening of the competition or a surprise entrant, the M-346N appears to be the de facto winner. [1]

The UJTS program is designed to replace the T-45 Goshawk, which has trained Navy and Marine Corps aviators for carrier aviation and tactical strike missions since the early 1990s. [1]

A competition that was once a crowded field has quietly collapsed into a formality — the question is no longer who wins, but whether the Navy revisits the terms that drove its competitors away.

SNC left the door open, noting it would "re-engage if the approach is revisited." [1] For now, the Navy moves toward source selection with one offer on the table.