NAVY SEEKS NEW TRAINING JET
The U.S. Navy is looking for a new jet trainer aircraft and has issued a Request for Information (RFI) that is intended to replace the Boeing T-45 Goshawks, which are at the heart of the intermediate and advanced elements of the Navy’s aviator training program.
Requirements for the replacement aircraft include: an already existing aircraft (nothing planned or in development); a top speed of Mach 0.84; a service ceiling minimum of 41,000 feet; two underwing pylons to carry such things as rocket pods and practice bomb dispensers; a flight control system with precision landing mode; and a mission system capable of simulating radar and other sensors as well as the employment of both air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons.
While the T-45 fleet is undergoing a service-life-extension program that would enable the Goshawk to serve until sometime into the 2040s, the Navy would like this replacement trainer in place by the end of this decade. The Navy estimates it would fly each aircraft approximately 400 hours every year, during which it would undertake around 1,200 no-flare landings during field carrier landing practice and about 45 carrier touch-and-goes. Fatigue life is required to be at least 14,400 hours and 43,200 cycles.
—
Original Story: https://doav.virginia.gov
Photo Credit: Wikipedia