The US Naval Air Systems Command has awarded a sole-source contract to Textron Aviation for 10 Beechcraft T-54A aircraft to meet its requirement for a Multi-Engine Training System (METS) aircraft. The new planes, based on the King Air 260 commercial model, are part of a $113.1 million contract that also includes support equipment, spares and training. Ultimately, the Navy intends to acquire up to 64 T-54As in a deal that could be worth $677.2 million. Their delivery is scheduled between 2024 and 2026.
The twin T-54A turboprops will be used for training Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard pilots destined to fly what the service calls “non-central thrust” aircraft, such as the C-130 Hercules , P-8 Poseidon, E-2 Hawkeye, E-6 Mercury and V-22 Osprey. They will be used to teach students advanced instrument flying and asymmetric engine handling.
“The new METS aircraft will give us the ability to train pilots across services with an advanced platform that better represents aircraft in the fleet,” said Capt. Holly Shoger, Naval Undergraduate Flight Systems Program Office program manager ( PMA-273). “The T-54A will include the latest avionics and navigation updates, such as virtual reality and augmented reality devices, to ensure that pilots are prepared for any challenges that will arise in tomorrow’s battlespace.”
The METS requirement called for a pressurized aircraft with side-by-side seats and a jump seat in the cockpit, and a reconfigurable cargo bay in the cabin. Avionics must include multi-function displays with digital moving map; redundant ultra-high frequency and very high frequency radios; an integrated global positioning system/inertial navigation system; auto-broadcast dependent surveillance; flight management system; weather radar; radar altimeter; and a cockpit data recorder.
Other requirements include FAA certification for one- or two-pilot operations in VFR/IFR day/night conditions. The aircraft should also be equipped with data capture systems for the Condition-Based Maintenance Plus system, which provides aircraft condition trend monitoring and prognostic maintenance.
Textron was the sole responder to the offer, with its King Air 260 meeting most requirements in its commercial version. Small modifications will provide the T-54A with high angle of attack capability, which is needed to train pilots who will land the E-2 Hawkeye aboard aircraft carriers.
In service with the Naval Air Training Command, the T-54A will replace the Beechcraft T-44C Pegasus, based on the King Air H90. The Navy purchased 61 as the T-44A in the late 1970s, upgrading them with new avionics to the T-44C standard in the late 2000s. They currently serve with the Air Wing training four at NAS Corpus Christi in Texas, serving with two squadrons: VT-31 “Wise Owls” and VT-35 “Stingrays”. The withdrawal of the T-44C fleet is to begin six months after the delivery of the first T-54A.