Textron Aviation Defense announced plans Tuesday to assemble its Beechcraft M-346N in Wichita, Kansas, if selected for the U.S. Navy’s Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) contract. The company said it would invest more than $38 million to modernize 50,000 square feet of its east Wichita campus, potentially adding about 100 direct manufacturing jobs.
“Wichita has long been the center of innovation for Beechcraft, and we’re proud to continue that tradition as we prepare to support the Navy’s next-generation training needs,” said Travis Tyler, president and CEO of Textron Aviation Defense.
The twin-engine Beechcraft M-346N, built on a platform with more than 100 examples in global service, features an advanced digital cockpit, fly-by-wire controls and Live-Virtual-Constructive capabilities that link simulators and aircraft in real time. Textron launched a national tour of the aircraft last month to demonstrate its performance as the Navy moves to replace its aging T-45 Goshawk trainers. The Navy recently ended the requirement for student aviators to complete carrier qualifications before earning their wings, citing technological advances and a push to streamline the training pipeline.
The M-346N is one of several aircraft competing for the Navy’s next-generation trainer role, alongside Lockheed Martin and Korea Aerospace Industries’ TF-50N, Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Freedom Trainer, and Boeing’s T-7B—though Boeing appears to have shifted its focus to the Air Force variant, the T-7A. Lockheed Martin promotes the TF-50N as a low-risk, production-ready design with modern avionics and strong sustainment support, while SNC’s Freedom Trainer emphasizes carrier touch-and-go capability and a 16,000-hour airframe life.
The Navy is expected to issue its request for proposals soon, with a contract award anticipated in 2027.
US Navy buying Russian aircraft, whatever next?