Amentum has secured a $490-million deal to provide contractor logistics support for the US Navy’s T-54A Multi-Engine Training Systems (METS).
The agreement will support overall fleet management services for the service’s ongoing transition from its aging T-44C Pegasus trainer aircraft first deployed in the 1970s to the new T-54A platform.
It will cover “modifications and engineering to sustainment and logistics” tasks that will aid the Chief of Naval Air Training in preparing future Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard pilots for advanced operational planes, including the C-130 Hercules, E-2D Hawkeye, P-8 Poseidon, and V-22 Osprey.
The Virginia-based company will conduct associated works for up to five years at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in Texas, where the decommissioning of all T-44Cs and induction of the METS fleet are set over the next three years.
“Amentum’s extensive experience delivering comprehensive fleet management…makes us the premier partner for modernizing the Navy’s training aircraft fleet,” Amentum Mission Solutions Group President Dr. Karl Spinnenweber commented.
“Our team, understanding the critical nature of our mission, excels in the accelerated pilot training environment and is fully committed to providing ready-to-train aircraft every single day.”
The US Navy accepted the first two of 10 T-54A planes ordered under the METS program in April.
Prime contract for the initiative was awarded to Textron Aviation in January 2023 and includes options for up to 64 units.
The T-54A METS
Textron’s T-54A is a modified version of the Beechcraft King Air 260 utility aircraft. It has a 43-foot (13-meter) airframe with a wingspan of 57 feet (17 meters).
The T-54A is powered by twin Pratt & Whitney PT6A-52 engines for speeds up to 259 knots (298 miles/480 kilometers per hour), a service ceiling of 35,000 feet (10,668 meters), and a range of 1,640 nautical miles (3,037 kilometers).
The aircraft is expected to operate under the US Navy for three decades.