U.S. Navy's New Trainer Goes on Show in Europe

Textron Aviation's Beechcraft King Air® 260 multi-engine training system (METS) is making its international debut this week at the Farnborough Airshow. Last year the U.S. Navy selected the aircraft to fulfill a requirement to replace the aging King Air® 90-based Beechcraft T-44 Pegasus.

The company will deliver up to 64 King Airs to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in Texas to support pilot training for the multi-engine fleets of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, including the V-22 Osprey. An initial $113.1 million contract covers 10 aircraft, with full procurement of 64 expected to cost $677.2 million. Textron Aviation handed over the first aircraft on April 22 this year, and instructor training has started. 

Designated T-54A in U.S. Navy service, the METS aircraft is based on the standard King Air® 260 that the FAA certified in March 2021. The King Air® 260 is an improved and updated version of the popular King Air® 200.

Inheriting a modern avionics and navigation suite from its commercial stablemate, the T-54A has been adapted to the Navy's METS requirement with commercial off-the-shelf items. It features a cockpit that seats three (handling/non-handling pilots and instructor), each with radio and full-face oxygen mask provision. There is no cockpit divide, so passengers can view the flight deck operations. 

The T-54 can have TACAN navigation and V/UHF radios, and it's the first King Air® variant to feature an angle-of-attack monitoring/warning system -- an important requirement for a military multi-engine trainer.

Another feature -- an optional datalink that transmits aircraft data to the ground -- allows for real-time maintenance tracking. This, in turn, streamlines and accelerates the process of responding to maintenance issues, including those encountered when the aircraft is operating away from its home base. The downlinked data, along with imagery from cockpit video cameras, can also replay sorties during post-mission debriefs. 

In May, Canada announced that it had chosen the King Air® 260 METS to answer the multi-engine/asymmetric power training element of the Royal Canadian Air Force's Future Aircrew Training requirement. Seven aircraft are to be supplied via the SkyAlyne consortium led by CAE and KF Aerospace.

Canada's "T-54 Plus" aircraft will feature some additional specific capabilities, including compatibility with night vision goggles and anti-icing, the latter required in the Canadian climate. The additions highlight Textron's ability to tailor aircraft to customer requirements through a range of commercially-available factory options.

The U.S. Navy's adoption of the T-54 has generated considerable interest in the King Air® 260 METS, and the aircraft is being shown at Farnborough to military delegations. There is considerable scope for the type in Europe, where several air arms want to replace aging multi-engined trainers, and where a growing roster operates King Air®-based special missions aircraft, for which the 260 METS would serve as an ideal training partner. 

Image: Textron Aviation