SNC unveils Freedom Trainer for US Navy's T-45 replacement program
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| Rendering of SNC Freedom Trainer. |
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), a global aerospace and national security company, announced Thursday the launch of its Freedom Trainer jet to compete in the U.S. Navy's Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) competition. The company relied on a team of leading aviation and training experts to design a Navy-focused aircraft, aiming to transform the future of naval aviation with uncompromising performance at low lifecycle cost.
SNC emphasized that the Freedom Trainer, part of the Freedom Family of Training Systems (FoTS), represents a significant advancement in the U.S. Navy's training capabilities, adhering to the "Train the Way You Fight – Zero Compromise" philosophy. It also noted that this is the only aircraft capable of Carrier touch-and-go and Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) to Touchdown, ensuring pilots gain critical skills from the onset without costing significantly more and wearing out high-end assets prematurely.
According to SNC, the Freedom Trainer boasts a number of key features that distinguish it as the best choice for the UJTS. It meets the Navy's traditional and rigorous landing requirements while offering significantly reduced lifecycle costs, with engine-related expenses that are 40% lower than the Navy's current trainers and half the cost of land-centric trainers. Its innovative design and robust reliability, with a 16,000-hour airframe service life, eliminate the need for unplanned service life extension programs (SLEP), while still allowing for a 30-40% longer average sortie duration. This creates more training time with less overall lifecycle cost. Further, Freedom's US Navy-owned digital design and modular open system architecture ensures that NAVAIR controls future upgrades for the life of the UJTS program including the capability for seamless third-party system integration.
SNC emphasized that the Freedom Trainer, part of the Freedom Family of Training Systems (FoTS), represents a significant advancement in the U.S. Navy's training capabilities, adhering to the "Train the Way You Fight – Zero Compromise" philosophy. It also noted that this is the only aircraft capable of Carrier touch-and-go and Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) to Touchdown, ensuring pilots gain critical skills from the onset without costing significantly more and wearing out high-end assets prematurely.
According to SNC, the Freedom Trainer boasts a number of key features that distinguish it as the best choice for the UJTS. It meets the Navy's traditional and rigorous landing requirements while offering significantly reduced lifecycle costs, with engine-related expenses that are 40% lower than the Navy's current trainers and half the cost of land-centric trainers. Its innovative design and robust reliability, with a 16,000-hour airframe service life, eliminate the need for unplanned service life extension programs (SLEP), while still allowing for a 30-40% longer average sortie duration. This creates more training time with less overall lifecycle cost. Further, Freedom's US Navy-owned digital design and modular open system architecture ensures that NAVAIR controls future upgrades for the life of the UJTS program including the capability for seamless third-party system integration.
SNC's Freedom Trainer is the latest entrant in the UJTS competition and will now face other contenders that include a navalized version of the T-7 from Boeing, the TF-50N from Lockheed Martin and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), and the M-346N offered by Textron and Leonardo.
Written bt Matteo Sanzani
Source, Images: SNC
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