Sierra Nevada pulls out of the US Navy’s new trainer jet competition, leaving Textron’s M-346N almost alone

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has withdrawn from the US Navy’s competition for a new trainer jet, leaving Textron Aviation Defense with the M-346N as the only substantial contender. Breaking Defense revealed the withdrawal on Tuesday, November 3, in connection with the UJTS (Undergraduate Jet Training System) programme.

Asked whether it formally submitted a bid by the October 30 deadline, the company replied with a statement: “With full respect for the Navy and the PMA-273 office, SNC could not responsibly submit a bid for the UJTS programme under the current contract structure. We remain committed to training Navy aviators in jets and are ready to come back if the approach is revised.”

A competition that is gradually emptying

Textron Aviation Defense confirmed it submitted to the Navy its proposal with the M-346N. A company spokesperson said it is “ready to support the US Navy and its future training needs”. Unless the competition is reopened and an unexpected contender appears, the M-346N looks set to be the effective winner.

The field had already thinned in previous months. Lockheed Martin announced in April it would not submit its proposal, the TF-50N with Korea Aerospace Industries, and Boeing withdrew in June. In September it emerged that Northrop Grumman was leaving the SNC team, which based its bid on the new Freedom design. Stavatti Aerospace, a group that regularly claims to have aircraft designs for every Pentagon contract, said on October 30 that it too had submitted a bid. The M-346 on which Textron’s offer is based is a design of Italy’s Leonardo.

The timetable and what changes from the T-45

UJTS is intended to succeed the T-45 Goshawks, which entered Navy service in the early 1990s and train Navy and Marine Corps aviators for carrier operations and tactical strike missions. The programme office said the Navy kept the October 30 deadline for bids, which was already an extension of the earlier deadline of June 30.

The award date is also slipping. In September the Navy spoke of a contract by June 2027, while it now estimates the decision will come between July and the end of September 2027. Originally the selection was scheduled for March 2027. “The government is in the process of selecting a supplier with the intention of awarding UJTS procurement in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2027,” the programme office said.

The Navy made clear in March that the new trainer will not need to land on aircraft carriers, as the T-45 does. Nor is it required to support field carrier landing practice (FCLP), on an airfield runway that simulates the carrier deck. It only needs to be able to break off the approach and climb again. Companies are asked to propose “unique aircraft simulation capabilities” for training aviators in carrier approaches.