Textron Aviation has been awarded the contract for the Multi-Engine Training System (METS) by Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) through a competitive process. The contract covers the procurement of up to 64 King Air 260 aircraft, which will be known as the T-54A. The initial contract award will purchase 10 new Beechcraft King Air 260 commercial aircraft and associated support, with Lot II and Lot III, if the options are exercised, each procuring up to 27 aircraft. Deliveries are scheduled from 2024 to 2026.

The Beechcraft King Air 260 will replace the T-44C Pegasus aircraft of the Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA) fleet, which has been in service since 1977. The new METS platform will provide an intermediate and advanced training platform for U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Coast Guard aviators into the P-8, EP-3, KC-130, E-6, E-2, CMV-22, CV-22, and MV-22 aircraft.

The T-54A will feature updated avionics suite, automation qualities, virtual reality and augmented reality devices, and factory options for TACAN (Air to Air), angle of attack (AOA), V/UHF radio, digital audio system, engine trend monitoring, condition-based maintenance plus, observer/jump seat, passenger mission seats, and full-face oxygen masks.

The King Air 260 METS aircraft will be delivered in a fully compliant, METS mission-ready configuration from Textron Aviation’s King Air production line in Wichita, Kansas. Bob Gibbs, vice president of Special Missions Sales for Textron Aviation, expressed his honor at the U.S. Navy selecting the Beechcraft King Air for their training needs, while Capt. Holly Shoger, Naval Undergraduate Flight Training Systems Program Office program manager, said the new METS platform with advanced technology will be more representative of fleet aircraft and better prepare students for the advanced aircraft they will fly in the fleet.