Overview
- Boeing told the Navy on June 12, 2026 that it will not bid for the Undergraduate Jet Training System after concluding the T‑7A Red Hawk does not meet the service’s requirements.
- The firm said the T‑7A’s F404 engine would need extensive engine‑qualification work that would lengthen development and slow delivery of a working trainer for the Navy.
- Lockheed Martin left the competition in April, leaving Textron Aviation Defense offering the Beechcraft M‑346N with Leonardo and Sierra Nevada Corporation offering the Freedom trainer with Northrop Grumman and General Atomics as the main remaining bidders.
- The Navy’s March RFP removes a requirement for carrier landings, limits field carrier landing practice to wave‑offs while demanding advanced aircraft simulation, and in May raised the engineering and manufacturing development price cap from about $1.8 billion to $2.7 billion.
- With two major primes now out, the narrowed field could speed design choices but raises questions about cost, schedule and how the service will train student aviators as it replaces the T‑45 Goshawk and aims to award the contract in 2027.