SNC withdraws from US Navy trainer competition, leaving Textron-Leonardo team as sole competitor
SNC had developed a new clean-sheet design for the T-45 Goshawk replacement effort.
Defence contractor Sierra Nevada (SNC) has withdrawn from the competition to provide a new trainer jet to the US Navy, leaving a Textron Aviation Defense-led bid, proposing the Leonardo M-346, as the sole remaining contender.
SNC’s departure is the latest twist in the USN’s long-running effort to replace its Boeing T-45 Goshawk fleet via a programme known as the Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS).
The company tells FlightGlobal that the navy’s contract structure was behind its decision to walk away.
“SNC’s decision was driven by the acquisition structure, not the aircraft, the team, or the mission. The current solicitation requires industry to commit to firm-fixed-price production before the aircraft design has fully matured. This creates a level of risk we could not responsibly accept and a risk that we believe the navy will inherit as future cost increases and schedule delays,” the company says.
“After careful review, we concluded that we could not commit to pricing a future configuration that has not yet completed the normal design maturation process,” SNC adds.
Nevada-headquartered SNC had developed a new, clean-sheet design for its UJTS offering. Unveiled in 2025, SNC described the ‘Freedom Trainer’ as “purpose-built” for the navy trainer mission. The design was to feature a two-seat tandem cockpit with Martin-Baker Mk18 ejection seats and twin Williams International FJ44-4M business jet turbofans.
The deadline for submitting final UJTS bids was 30 October.
Sierra Nevada has pitched the Freedom Trainer as an aircraft purpose-built for the Undergraduate Jet Training System requirement. Source: SNC
Lone survivor
The SNC withdrawal follows similar moves by both Boeing and Lockheed Martin, who bowed out of the process in May and June, respectively. Lockheed had teamed with Korean manufacturer KAI to offer a US-built variant of the T-50 trainer.
Boeing had been expected to bid its existing T-7A Red Hawk trainer, which is in low-rate production for the US Air Force. The airframer said at the time its decision was driven by engine requirements in the UJTS solicitation, which would have required significant rework to the platform.
Both the T-7A and T-50 are powered by a single GE Aerospace F404 turbofan.
With SNC now also declining to move forward, that leaves Textron as the sole UJTS competitor and thus presumptive winner. Textron Aviation Defense confirmed to FlightGlobal on 4 November that it submitted a final bid to the navy.
“We stand ready to support the US Navy and its future training needs,” the company says.
The Embedded Tactical Training System featured in the M-346N/Block 20 offers the ability to emulate modern weapons and combat sensor systems and generate simulated targets for trainees to engage. Source: Ryan Finnerty/FlightGlobal
Kansas-based Textron has partnered with Italian airframer Leonardo to offer a US-built variant of Leonardo’s M-346 trainer, dubbed the Beechcraft M-346N.
The design is based on Leonardo’s latest M-346 Block 20 configuration, which features an all-glass cockpit and onboard training system that can emulate weapons, sensors and enemy targets for students to fly against without the need to physically incorporate those costly systems into the aircraft.
FlightGlobal was treated to an in-flight demonstration of that Embedded Tactical Training System in 2025, including both air-to-air and air-to-ground engagements.
Textron plans to establish an M-346N assembly line at its primary aircraft production hub in Wichita, Kansas, should the company secure the T-45 replacement contract.
The company has previously said it will invest $38 million to develop the M-346N line in an existing 4,645sq m (50,000sq ft) facility on Textron’s existing east Wichita campus – which is home to the original 1940’s Beechcraft delivery centre.
The US Navy currently has 188 T-45s in service.
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