History
In 1988, the United States Navy (USN) and the United States Air Force (USAF) were at a unique moment in history; they reached a point where they could work together, and provide a cost-effective solution to pilot production, specifically primary training. Both services needed to modernize their fleets of training aircraft.
The USAF and the USN cleared the first major obstacle on the subject of commonality. Each service preferred a different seating configuration. The USAF preferred the side-by-side configuration, while the USN preferred the tandem configuration. These preferences may have been due to each service’s previous experience in training aircraft. The T-37 is a side-by-side configuration, while the T-34C is a tandem arrangement. The hurdle was cleared when both services agreed on the tandem configuration.
The JPATS selection process began on 18 May 1994, when the RFP was issued. Seven contractors responded to the JPATS RFP:
- Beechcraft, part of Raytheon.
- Cessna.
- Lockheed, merged with Martin Marietta in 1995 to form Lockheed Martin.
- Northrop Corporation, merged with Grumman in 1994 to form Northrop Grumman.
- Grumman, merged with Northrop in 1994 to form Northrop Grumman.
- Rockwell (worked with MBB/DASA for JPATS).
- Vought, originally part of LTV, bought by Northrop in 1992.
The process took fourteen months and entailed evaluations of seven aircraft, seven cockpit mockups, and thousands of pages of contractor proposals.
Beechcraft/Raytheon, with a modified (70% redesign) Swiss Pilatus PC-9 Mk 2 aircraft, was awarded the prime contract on 22 June 1995. The contract contained a nine-year period of performance through FY2004, and a production run continuing through FY2017. Concurrent with the contract award, Raytheon Aircraft Company (RAC) was also provided the GBTS Request for Contract Change Proposal (CCP). Raytheon Aircraft Company has since been acquired by a Onex, a Canadian private equity fund.
It was designated under the 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system, skipping some numbers use the same designation as the older T-6 Texan which, while also used under the Post 1962 system, had been originally designated in an older system.
Read more about this topic: Joint Primary Aircraft Training System
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