NPG14_CHINFO_Web_7Mar14

U.S. NAVY PROGRAM GUIDE 2014
The T-6B is replacing CNATRA’s venerable workhorse, the
T-34C, after 30 years of service. Built by Beechcraft Defense Corporation,
the T-6B features a Pratt & Whitney PT-6A-68 engine
with twice the horsepower of the T-34C, ejection seats for increased
safety, cockpit pressurization, onboard oxygen-generating
systems, and a completely digital/glass cockpit. Training Air Wing
FIVE at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whiting Field completed its transition
to the T-6B in 2012, and Training Air Wing FOUR at NAS
Corpus Christi is following suit with its transition scheduled to be
complete by 2014.
The T-45 Goshawk, a carrier-capable derivative of the British Aerospace
Hawk, is used for intermediate and advanced training in the
strike syllabus for (jet) pilots. The conversion from analog (T-45A)
to digital cockpits (T-45C) is nearing its completion. Future upgrades
include resolution of an engine-surge issue to enhance fuel
efficiency and safety, and preservation of current aircraft through
Service Life Assessment and Service Life Extension Programs.
The TH-57 Sea Ranger, the Navy version of the commercial Bell
Jet Ranger, is used for advanced training in the rotary-wing (helicopter)
pilot syllabus. The TH-57B (visual flight) and the TH-57C
(instrument flight) will be receiving minor avionics upgrades that
will allow continued operation past 2020.
The T-44 Pegasus and the TC-12 Huron are twin turboprop, pressurized,
fixed-wing aircraft that are used for intermediate and advanced
training for multi-engine and tilt-rotor pilots. The TC-12
will be phased out of advanced training by 2016. Continued improvements
to the T-44 include the replacement of wing wiring,
simulator upgrades, and the conversion from analog (T-44A) to
digital cockpits (T-44C). Additionally, the T-44 is receiving new
simulators to replace the obsolete legacy instrument flight trainers.
All Undergraduate Military Flight Officers (UMFOs) primary
training begins in the T-6B Texan II. VFA (attack) and VAQ (electronic
warfare) advanced UMFO training is conducted in the T-39
Sabreliner and T-45C.
In service since the early 1990s, the T-39 is a multi-purpose lowwing,
twin-turbojet aircraft used for radar, instrument and lowlevel
navigation training. The T-45 is used for the tactical maneuvering
portion of the VFA and VAQ UMFO syllabus and is
replacing the T-39 as the advanced phase radar trainer with the
integration of the Virtual Mission Training System (VMTS), an
embedded synthetic radar training system.
CNATRA has charted a course to revolutionize UMFO training
by employing the T-6A, the T-45C with VMTS, and high-fidelity
simulators to train future UMFOs. This new training program
capitalizes on cutting-edge technologies while allowing the Navy
to divest of the aging T-39 platform. The new training syllabus
achieved Initial Operating Capability at NAS Pensacola in FY 2013
and will be fully operational by the end of FY 2014. VP, VQ and
VAW advanced UMFO training will be conducted in the Multi-
Crew Simulator (MCS). Set to begin in 2014, MCS will focus on
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