Textron Aviation has secured a $267 million order from the US Navy (USN) for 26 additional T-54A multi-enigned trainer aircraft.
The US Department of Defense announced the contract on 14 November, noting the deal includes 24 new aircraft under T-54A order Lot 3 and two aircraft plus-up to the existing Lot 2 buy.
Textron delivered the first T-54A example Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas in April.
”The T-54A has since reached 1,000 flight hours while providing advanced instrument and asymmetric engine handling training to student naval aviators selected for multi-engine fleet communities within the [US] Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and select US allies,” Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) said on 18 November.
At the same time, NAVIAR revealed the common name for the T-54A will be the Marlin II.
The T-54A will replace the navy’s ageing Beechcraft T-44C Pegasus aircraft, a derivative of the King Air 90 turboprop that has been in service since 1977. The service took delivery of its first T-54A in April, with a phased retirement of the T-44C fleet now underway.
There were 54 T-44Cs in the USN inventory at the start of 2024, according to Cirium data. The Pegasus, and its T-54A successor, are used to provide intermediate and advanced flight training to naval and US Marine Corps aviation officers assigned to multi-engined and tiltrotor platforms.
Those include the Boeing P-8 and E-6, Lockheed Martin EP-3 and KC-130, Northrop Grumman E-2 and all variants of the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor.
The T-54A features a pressurised aircraft cockpit with side-by-side seating and a jump seat. Included in its training curriculum will be advanced instrument and asymmetric engine handling training.
Other improvements include modern avionics, a cockpit flight management system and a condition-based maintenance system the navy says will improve the planning and efficiency of fleet sustainment.
“This aircraft brings modernised training to student naval aviators and prepares them for the advanced aircraft they will fly in the fleet,” the navy says.
Textron won the navy’s Multi-Engine Training System competition in February 2023, covering up to 64 total aircraft. The initial Lot 1 contract was awarded simultaneously, covering 10 examples of the King Air 260 derivative.
A subsequent Lot 2 order covered a second tranche of 26 aircraft. Combined with the latest Lot 2 plus-up and Lot 3 orders, the navy has opted for the full 64 aircraft T-54A fleet.
Deliveries are expected to run through 2026.
Story updated 18 November to include details of the T-54A naming
Ryan Finnerty is the Americas defence reporter for FlightGlobal.com and Flight International magazine, covering military aviation and the defence industry. He is a former United States Army officer and previously reported for America’s National Public Radio system in New York and Hawaii covering energy, economics and military affairs.View full Profile
