WASHINGTON — After pushback from industry, the Navy has boosted the budget for developing a new training jet by roughly $900 million, the service confirmed to Breaking Defense.
The Navy in March originally solicited bids for the Undergraduate Jet Training System with a ceiling of roughly $1.8 billion for the aircraft’s engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase, a price cap that included up to seven low-rate initial production aircraft. But in May, the service raised the price ceiling to $2.7 billion, according to an updated request for proposals.
“The Government updated the price cap to reflect a change in the program cost estimate due to new information received,” Naval Air Systems Command said in a statement to Breaking Defense.
Aviation Week, who previously reported the Navy is seeking to order up to 216 aircraft, first reported the price cap increase.
Several defense firms are competing for the new trainer jet, including Textron Aviation Defense, who is offering the Beechcraft M-346N as part of a partnership with Leonardo. A spokesperson for Textron said in a statement to Breaking Defense that the firm “remains focused on delivering a proven training solution in the Beechcraft M-346N that meets the Navy’s Undergraduate Jet Training System mission needs.”
SNC, along with Northrop Grumman and General Atomics, is offering its Freedom Trainer. A spokesperson for SNC did not respond to a request for comment from Breaking Defense by press time. However, Jon Piatt, SNC executive vice president for ISR, aviation and security, previously raised concern about the program’s original $1.8 billion budget in an interview with Breaking Defense.
“I am a little bit surprised that for something this important, for the next generation of trainer, that the Navy would make a decision to put a cap on a development program that is already going to be hamstrung by budget constraints in the first two years of what has currently been budgeted,” Piatt told Breaking Defense in April. “It’s a big challenge. It could be a big obstacle.”
Boeing has previously said it is competing for UJTS, but declined to comment and referred Breaking Defense to the Navy.
Meanwhile, Breaking Defense first reported in April that Lockheed Martin had exited the trainer jet competition after it was lined up to offer the TF-50N with Korea Aerospace Industries. When asked if the firm would reconsider entering the competition given the new price cap, a spokesperson for Lockheed Martin said: “We continually evaluate opportunities across our portfolio to ensure alignment with our customers’ missions and our business strategy.
“We remain committed to providing the best capabilities to our U.S. military and global partners and will continue to engage with our customers to understand their evolving requirements,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Michael Marrow contributed to this report.
