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T-45C Replacement

Pretty soon it will be a product of the last company standing.

I'm not sure that's how you get a quality airplane.

I take both large aviation Defense companies pulling out as a very bad sign, indicating one of two things:
1.) The requirements are so stringent that they will be extremely hard to meet and
2.) The state of our defense industry is such that making money on a jet trainer will be extremely difficult, leading businesses to seek opportunity elsewhere.

I think Textron Aviation Defense and Leonardo have a viable product plan in and of itself, but the question also remains how difficult the USN is going to make life for the winner. As Kelly Johnson famously stated, "Starve before doing business with the damned Navy. They don't know what the hell they want and will drive you up a wall before they break either your heart or a more exposed part of your anatomy."
 
Let’s not pretend the T-7 has been a model of program management.

Also the T-50 was always the best option and the Navy punted this one into the stands.
 
Let’s not pretend the T-7 has been a model of program management.

Also the T-50 was always the best option and the Navy punted this one into the stands.
Lockheed made the decision to pull out. Not the Navy. So, I’m not sure I understand where you’re coming from.
 
I'm calling it now. T-45 replacement will fail entirely from a procurement standpoint. The airframes will simply time out. SNAs will then go through Intermediate/Advanced in the T-6 for everything except Carrier Qualification and Strike stages, which they will do in the T-45 simulator. They'll be told, "You're basically flying a jet, anyway. Just imagine you're doing this with 100 extra knots."

It's working super well for the Air Force with Mobility track students doing T-6, then T-1 sims, then going straight to their mission aircraft, isn't it?
 
It's working super well for the Air Force with Mobility track students doing T-6, then T-1 sims, then going straight to their mission aircraft, isn't it?

From what little I have gleaned, no- I don’t gather that it is going well.

The training commands are indeed in for a rough time.
 
From what little I have gleaned, no- I don’t gather that it is going well.

The training commands are indeed in for a rough time.

My younger brother is an E-3 IP. He says the closest he's been to being killed in an airplane is on every students first flight on the tanker. The 707 doesn't fly formation with another 707 like a T-6 does.
 
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