Contributor - UK

David Donald

Leonardo is collaborating with Textron Aviation Defense to offer the M-346 to the U.S. Navy to answer its Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) requirement. This program, which has generated a number of requests for information dating back to 2018, aims to replace the Boeing/BAE Systems T-45 Goshawk in the advanced fast-jet training role. The two companies announced their joint bid last September.
Developed from BAE’s Hawk Mk 60, the T-45 entered service in 1991, and the aging fleet is experiencing increasing reliability and obsolescence issues. More than 220 were built, of which around 190 remain in service. The UJTS program envisions a minimum total of 145 new aircraft to replace them, to be built at a rate of 25 aircraft per year at full production.
Competition comes from the Boeing T-7—already selected by the U.S. Air Force for its next-generation trainer needs—and the Lockheed Martin/Korea Aerospace T-50. Textron and Leonardo are stressing the low risk and ready availability of their offer, which is known as the M-346N in its Navy-specific version.
According to the Italian-U.S. partnership, the M-346 represents a highly capable trainer tailored to meet the needs of modern combat aircraft, such as the Lockheed Martin F-35. In addition to flying skills, the aircraft’s systems allow it to be used to instruct cockpit management and information processing, which is an increasingly important element of the modern training syllabus.
<h2>Carrier Training Needs Shift</h2>
A key capability of the T-45 is its ability to operate from carrier decks, but advances in carrier approach technology may have rendered this niche requirement unnecessary. The majority of carrier landing training is already conducted ashore in Field Carrier Landing Practice sorties. As installed in F/A-18s, EA-18s, and F-35Cs, the Navy’s new Precision Landing Mode (PLM) system significantly reduces the number of control inputs required from the pilot, with a dramatic improvement in safety. Moreover, the F-35C has a measure of autoland capability.
The Navy may decide that these factors allow the removal of the carrier landing requirement from the UJTS program if the aircraft are equipped with PLM. The enormous cost required to re-engineer airframes and undercarriages to cater for the loads experienced during arrested recoveries is likely to be deemed too high a price to pay for a rarely-used capability. There is also the option of retaining a handful of T-45Cs to provide carrier landing experience for students.
Orders for Leonardo’s M-346 now exceed 120, the latest of which is a sale of 12 to Austria. Among the operators are influential air arms such as Israel, Italy, Poland, Qatar, and Singapore.

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Leonardo has joined forces with Textron Aviation Defense to offer the M-346 to the U.S. Navy to answer its Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) requirement. 

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