New Competitor Looks To Upend U.S. Navy Trainer Competition

SNC has joined the competition to replace the U.S. Navy’s T-45 Goshawk trainer and asserts that its clean-sheet design can handle the stress of carrier-representative landings the service has had to discontinue.

The company tells Aviation Week that it is offering an updated design of its Freedom trainer—originally proffered for the U.S. Air Force’s T-X competition—for the Navy’s Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS). The Freedom joins the Boeing T-7A Red Hawk, Lockheed Martin-Korean Aerospace Industries T-50N and Leonardo-Textron M-346N in the bid to replace the aging T-45.

While the three competitors have long been known, Nevada-based SNC only briefly teased interest in the program two years ago before making a formal announcement in August to coincide with the Tailhook Symposium in Reno, Nevada.

• SNC is the only contender with a clean-sheet design
• The company argues that its engine pick reduces cost
• Navy award is expected in 2027

“SNC decided years ago to follow the customer’s lead,” the company statess. “Our approach for Freedom is rooted in a commitment to thorough preparation and strategic timing, rather than rushing to make public announcements.”

SNC argues that its design has a unique advantage. As a part of the requirements process, the Navy backed away from its goal to have the next trainer conduct field carrier landing practice (FCLP)—unflared landings on land like those a carrier-based fighter would have to make so at sea. Other competitors have said the requirement would demand extensive development work for the aircraft to survive such abuse. The T-45, for example, needed considerable engineering rework to the original BAE Systems Hawk design to enable carrier landings.

SNC tells Aviation Week that it “took a deliberately different approach to our design philosophy from the beginning” and is focusing on a robust aircraft to meet the demanding Navy syllabus.

“We designed Freedom to be a strong competitor for T-X,” the company said in a statement. “However, at the same time, we also ensured that the aircraft maintained a firm footing to be fully capable of the demanding carrier touch-and-go landings and [FCLP]-to-touchdown landings for UJTS. Just one look at our landing gear configuration is a dead giveaway that we had the T-45 replacement program in mind a decade ago.”

The T-7, T-50 and M-346 under construction are variants of existing aircraft. SNC says the Freedom, which was not built in its original design for the T-X, is being developed for FCLP—something in which Navy aviators might be interested despite the increasing use of auto-landing systems on carriers.

“The most visible example of our purpose-built design for UJTS is the trailing-link landing gear and supporting structure, capable of carrier touch-and-go landings and FCLP-to-touchdown landings, and that is compatible with our 16,000-hr. service life airframe,” SNC says.

The Navy announced in a March 31 solicitation that it would no longer require FCLP, except to wave off, and would instead look for virtual practice as part of the UJTS. This allows production to begin more quickly ahead of a contract award expected in January 2027.

The decision was a sea change from a series of previous solicitations that highlighted FCLP. An August 2023 request for information called for 6-10 unflared landings per training flight, and such landings were required throughout the aircraft’s service life.

“SNC challenges the paradigm that industry requires a compromise to [the Chief of Naval Air Training’s] syllabus by delivering a purpose-built design optimized for the UJTS mission that includes carrier touch-and-go landings and FCLP-to-touchdown landings without compromise,” the company says.

The Navy has called for at least 145 aircraft as part of the UJTS, which would replace approximately 220 T-45s. Despite the aggressive schedule to field the system by 2030, the service has not outlined prospective funding in its budget plans. Naval Air Forces Commander Vice Adm. Daniel Cheever states in a white paper outlining the vision for Navy aviation that the UJTS will need advanced avionics and simulation capabilities, “providing a more realistic, effective and efficient training environment for the next generation of jet pilots.”

SNC says it has invested a significant amount of its own funding in the Freedom design. The aircraft, which appears to be smaller than its competitors, is designed for about 16,000 hr. of airframe life, double the Navy’s request during an April industry day for the program.

The company’s recent major programs appear to be diverging from traditional primes’ approaches in order to reduce costs for the government on such programs as the U.S. Air Force’s E-4C Survivable Airborne Operations Center and the U.S. Army’s High-Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System. SNC has been transparent about its intellectual property and modular open systems architecture to give the government more flexibility with upgrades, too.

One way SNC is making the case for its cost-effectiveness is with its engine choice. The Freedom would be powered by two Williams FJ44-4M 3,600-lb.-thrust engines, which are smaller than the GE Aerospace F404 in the T-7 and T-50 and the Honeywell-ITEC F124 in the M-346. Besides offering fuel savings, SNC contends that two FJ44-4Ms are half the price of one F404 both in procurement and overhaul costs. The company projects a flight-per-hour cost of $4,500, about half that of proposed F404- or F124-powered aircraft.

SNC says other offers are focused on traditional small fighter designs that are heavier and require engines that consume much more fuel, which could make them less reliable than the FJ44s. The Freedom will share its powerplant with business jets, such as the Beechcraft Premier and Cessna CitationJet, rather than fighters.

“SNC chose Williams International early in the conceptual design phase a decade ago because we were committed to providing uncompromising training performance and a substantial reduction in operating costs,” the company says. The smaller airframe is designed for efficient high-G maneuvers, SNC says. The Freedom is significantly shorter and lighter than the T-7.

The UJTS is expected to progress with a formal request for proposals in December. The 2027 engineering and manufacturing development award is also planned to cover procurement of the first low-rate initial production aircraft. While the Freedom has not entered production, SNC says it will be delivered and start flying on time.

SNC is teaming with multiple companies on the offer, although those partners have not been disclosed yet.

“It is clear to SNC that since early 2020, the Navy has been considering compromising its long-standing and important requirement to train with FCLP-to-landing,” the company contends. “It is important to the Freedom Team that the U.S. Navy has an option to continue its essential FCLP training and avoid the unnecessary risk and cost associated with foregoing that requirement in the [Chief of Naval Air Training] syllabus.

“As a clean-sheet design focused on the UJTS mission, the design features for FCLP-to-touchdown are minimal and affordable,” the company adds. “SNC believes FCLP-to-touchdown should be, at a minimum, a scored objective in the UJTS competition.”