Textron Aviation to Develop T-54A Trainer for U.S. Navy's Non-centreline Aircraft

The U.S. Navy announced on Jan. 25 that it awarded Textron Aviation a contract to develop the T-54A multi-engine training system (METS) aircraft.

This contract award will provide new aircraft to train Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard pilots to fly non-centerline thrust aircraft such as the V-22 Osprey, E-2D Hawkeye, C-130 Hercules and P-8 Poseidon. The T-44C sundown will begin six months after METS’ first delivery.

The Navy said T-54A will provide advanced instrument and asymmetric engine handling training to students.

The base contract is for $113.1 million for 10 aircraft. The total contract value, including the base and contract options, is $677.2 million for the procurement of up to 64 aircraft. The contract also covers support equipment, spares and initial training.

The aircraft deliveries are scheduled from calendar year 2024 to 2026.

The T-54A aircraft will feature a pressurized aircraft cockpit with side-by-side seating and a jump seat. The cockpit will be equipped with multifunction displays with a digital moving map; redundant ultra-high frequency and very high frequency radios; an integrated global positioning system/inertial navigation system; automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast; flight management system; weather radar, radar altimeter, and a cockpit data recorder. The METS aircraft will also have tricycle landing gear and a reconfigurable cargo bay in the cabin.

Additionally, the aircraft’s technology will capture data that allows for Conditioned-Based Maintenance Plus, a capability that enables the Navy to trend aircraft health over time to facilitate improved maintenance planning and efficiency.

PMA-273, at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, oversees the METS program.