Leonardo-Textron's M-346N leads US Navy T-45 Goshawk replacement program after SNC withdrawal from UJTS.

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) confirmed its withdrawal from the U.S. Navy’s Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) competition, leaving the Leonardo-Textron Beechcraft M-346N as the sole confirmed bid from an established manufacturer to replace the T-45 Goshawk. SNC cited firm-fixed-price production commitments prior to design maturity as the core rationale for withholding its Freedom Trainer proposal ahead of the Navy's deadline. The decision follows earlier exits by Boeing and Lockheed Martin, leaving the Navy to proceed with its 216-aircraft program under an expanded $2.7 billion development ceiling.

Jointly developed by Textron Aviation Defense and Leonardo, the Beechcraft M-346N is a navalized variant of Leonardo's M-346 Master advanced jet trainer designed specifically for the U.S. Navy's Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) program. (Picture source: Beechcraft)

Key tactical insights

• Why SNC Withdrew: Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) officially withdrew its Freedom Trainer proposal from the U.S. Navy’s Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) competition—a program to acquire 216 aircraft replacing 190 to 200 aging T-45 Goshawks. SNC cited excessive financial exposure under the Navy's firm-fixed-price acquisition structure, which mandated fixed production pricing prior to aircraft design maturity.

• Previous Departures: SNC’s exit follows a series of high-profile contractor dropouts. Boeing withdrew the T-7A Red Hawk in June 2026 due to engine qualification requirements, Lockheed Martin pulled the TF-50N in April 2026 over domestic content constraints, and Northrop Grumman departed SNC's industrial team in September 2026.

• Current Status of the M-346N: The Textron Aviation Defense and Leonardo partnership offering the Beechcraft M-346N is now the sole confirmed bid from an established aircraft manufacturer. While the Navy expanded the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) ceiling to $2.7 billion, it has postponed the formal contract award to Q4 FY2027 (July 1 to September 30, 2027) without officially announcing a winner.

On November 3, 2026, Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) confirmed its withdrawal from the U.S. Navy’s Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) competition to Breaking Defense, leaving the Beechcraft M-346N, jointly developed by Leonardo and Textron Aviation Defense, as the only confirmed proposal from an established aircraft manufacturer. SNC declined to submit its Freedom Trainer before the October 30 deadline, citing fixed-price production commitments before design maturity, uncertain future funding, and requirements to price aircraft before finalizing their configuration. The decision followed Lockheed Martin’s April withdrawal of the TF-50N in April 2026, Boeing’s June 12 departure with the T-7A Red Hawk, and Northrop Grumman’s September exit from SNC’s industrial team.

The US Navy plans to purchase 216 jet trainers to replace approximately 190 to 200 T-45 Goshawks, with initial production deliveries expected in 2032 and output reaching 25 aircraft annually from 2035. Although the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) ceiling increased by 54.3%, from $1.75 billion to $2.7 billion, it retained contractual provisions that SNC considered financially unacceptable. The Navy has also postponed the contract award from March, then June 2027, to between July 1 and September 30, 2027, without announcing a winner or disclosing the complete bidder field. SNC’s withdrawal resulted from three interconnected acquisition conditions: fixed production prices before design maturity, insufficient visibility over long-term appropriations, and binding prices before key configuration decisions.

Related topic: Could new M-346N jet trainers help US Navy pilots fly F-35Cs without needing carrier landings?

Under firm-fixed-price contracting, engineering changes that increase manufacturing costs generally remain the contractor’s responsibility unless contractual adjustments apply. For the unflown Freedom Trainer, changes to flight controls, structural reinforcement, avionics cooling, electrical systems, or landing gear could logically alter supplier contracts, tooling, qualification costs, and recurring manufacturing expenditure after prices had been negotiated. A $100,000 increase per aircraft, for instance, would represent $21.6 million across 216 aircraft that SNC would have to absorb, while $500,000 would represent $108 million, illustrating the exposure created by premature pricing rather than forecasting actual overruns. Planned funding of $52.8 million in FY2027 and $181 million in FY2028 totals $233.8 million, equivalent to 8.7% of the $2.7 billion EMD ceiling, but does not establish the amount that will ultimately be obligated.

Why SNC, Boeing and Lockheed Martin withdrew from the U.S. Navy trainer competition

SNC proposed additional preliminary design reviews, production commitments linked to engineering maturity, and Foreign Military Sales cooperation covering an estimated international market exceeding 600 trainers, although no corresponding foreign orders were secured. The M-346N benefits from an existing airframe and established production processes, but Navy-specific modifications and American assembly remain subject to the same fixed-price acquisition framework. The UJTS competition originally included five industrial approaches, but the three major withdrawals reflected different technical, industrial, and contractual obstacles. Lockheed Martin abandoned the TF-50N proposal in April 2026 after U.S. domestic-content requirements complicated its manufacturing arrangement with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), while Boeing withdrew the T-7A on June 12 because compliance with Navy requirements required additional development, including General Electric F404 engine qualification.

SNC’s Freedom Trainer differed from both aircraft because it was a clean-sheet twin-engine design developed specifically for naval instruction, with a projected 16,000-hour structural life and provisions for carrier qualification, even after the Navy eliminated that requirement. At 400 flight hours annually, its proposed structural life would correspond to 40 years, subject to fatigue accumulation, corrosion, and inspection requirements. Northrop Grumman left SNC’s team in September, while General Atomics had also participated in the effort, leaving the Freedom program without a flying prototype when SNC declined to bid. Textron and Leonardo consequently remain the only confirmed established-manufacturer team, although Stavatti Aerospace claimed to have submitted its SM-31A Stiletto on October 30. However, the US Navy has not confirmed whether that proposal was accepted, leaving the number of eligible bidders unresolved. 

What the Beechcraft M-346N could bring to U.S. Navy fighter pilot training

The Beechcraft M-346N, derived from Leonardo’s M-346 Master, measures 11.49 m long, 9.72 m wide, and 4.76 m high, with a 23.52 m² wing incorporating composite materials and damage-tolerant construction. Its two Honeywell F124-GA-200 non-afterburning turbofans each generate 27.9 kN of thrust, producing 55.8 kN combined and nominal static thrust-to-weight ratios of 0.75 at its 7,600 kg clean takeoff weight and 0.59 at its 9,600 kg maximum ramp weight. Wing loading at those weights reaches 323 and 408 kg/m², respectively, while internal fuel capacity is 2,005 kg, supplemented by up to three 630-liter external tanks on the wider M-346 family. Published performance includes a maximum cruise speed exceeding 590 knots, a 45,000 ft ceiling, +8G/−3G maneuvering limits, and configuration-dependent ranges of 1,000 to 1,270 nautical miles with an endurance of 162 to 205 minutes.

Actual UJTS endurance will logically be lower during fuel-intensive missions involving repeated climbs, high-G maneuvers, and carrier approach practice. Two zero-zero ejection seats, onboard oxygen generation, quadruple-redundant fly-by-wire controls, Pilot Activated Attitude Recovery, and Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance address specific training hazards. At the same time, the twin-engine configuration provides continued propulsion, a key advantage following certain single-engine failures on the T-45. The M-346N also adopts Leonardo’s Block 20 avionics architecture, which incorporates Large Area Displays, Head-Up Displays, HOTAS controls, helmet-mounted display functions, and integrated mission information in both cockpits. Its four-channel digital flight-control system permits instructors to modify G-limits, angle-of-attack restrictions, and handling characteristics during successive training phases.

The Embedded Tactical Training System simulates radar modes, air-to-air engagements, targeting, missile threats, electronic warfare, and tactical datalinks without installing the corresponding combat equipment. Live-Virtual-Constructive integration connects airborne aircraft with ground simulators and computer-generated forces, supporting scenarios involving up to 75 constructive adversaries without requiring equivalent numbers of actual aircraft. Ground instruction, for its part, combines operational flight trainers, procedural simulators, desktop avionics devices, mission planning, performance monitoring, AI-supported assessment, and post-flight reconstruction. These capabilities could transfer sensor-management and tactical decision-making instruction from F/A-18E/F and F-35C fighters to less expensive trainers and simulators. 

Why the U.S. Navy's next trainer will no longer need to land on aircraft carriers

Unlike the T-45 Goshawk, the UJTS aircraft will not require catapult launches, arrested carrier recoveries, or Field Carrier Landing Practice through touchdown. The Navy’s March 2026 requirements retain simulated carrier approaches ending in wave-offs, transferring actual arrested landings to later instruction in F/A-18E/F or F-35C. This eliminates the need for the trainer to incorporate catapult interfaces, arresting-hook structures, and reinforcement against repeated deck-recovery loads, reducing weight and qualification requirements associated with naval adaptation. The change is supported by the Precision Landing Mode, including Magic Carpet, which reduces continuous manual corrections needed to maintain the required approach flight path. Students will still practice alignment, descent control, power management, and missed approaches, but their initial carrier touchdown experience will occur in operational fighters rather than undergraduate trainers.

For a cohort of 100 students, even one additional fighter sortie per student would generate 100 additional operational-aircraft sorties, before repeat attempts or weather-related disruptions. No quantified equivalence between simulated approaches and actual arrested landings has yet been established, nor has it been established whether the revised sequence reduces total training expenditure. The Douglas T-45 Goshawk entered Navy service in 1991, with 221 aircraft manufactured through 2009 and approximately 190 to 200 remaining in the inventory. Training Air Wing One at NAS Meridian, Mississippi, and Training Air Wing Two at NAS Kingsville, Texas, use the aircraft for instrument flying, tactical formations, basic fighter maneuvers, interceptions, strike instruction, and carrier approaches.

Training Air Wing Two exceeded one million cumulative T-45 flight hours on February 26, 2024, reflecting the sustained aircraft utilization required by the pilot training pipeline. However, the aging fleet increasingly experienced oxygen-system failures and physiological incidents that contributed to more than 100 instructor pilots refusing to fly in 2017 due to safety concerns, followed by modifications to oxygen systems and engine-inlet arrangements, while a low-pressure compressor blade defect caused another fleet grounding in 2022. Structural aging, maintenance requirements, and a May 2026 aircraft loss have further complicated fleet sustainment, while the planned 216 replacements represent 8% to 14% more aircraft than the current inventory.

How Textron and Leonardo plan to manufacture the M-346N in the United States

At 400 flight hours per aircraft annually, 200 fully available trainers could theoretically generate 80,000 flight hours, compared with 64,000 at 80% availability. Textron plans a final assembly of the M-346N at its east Wichita, Kansas, campus, while Leonardo would manufacture the fuselage, wings, and tail in existing Italian facilities, while retaining responsibility for core flight-control and avionics software. Textron’s October 28, 2025, industrial plan includes more than $38 million to modernize over 50,000 square feet of manufacturing space and create approximately 100 direct jobs.

Leonardo’s Venegono Superiore facility has already supported production of more than 100 M-346 aircraft and a worldwide fleet exceeding 100,000 flight hours, with operators including Italy, Israel, Singapore, Poland, Greece, and Qatar. On May 26, 2026, ITPS Canada ordered six M-346 T Block 20 aircraft, with options for six more and service introduction planned from 2029, adding another customer to the existing industrial base. The UJTS schedule includes four EMD aircraft, initial production deliveries in 2032, and output reaching 25 aircraft annually from 2035, compared with earlier expectations of initial availability in 2030.

Existing production reduces uncertainty over structural manufacturing, component supply, and basic aircraft qualification, but American assembly requires tooling, personnel training, quality-control validation, and coordination with Italian suppliers. The remaining UJTS acquisition risks concern the cost and qualification of Navy-specific modifications, the transition to Wichita production, future appropriations, and whether fixed production prices can accommodate engineering changes without repeating the financial exposure that caused SNC to withdraw.

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Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, South Korea, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.