The Navy raised the price ceiling for the new Undergraduate Jet Training System’s engineering and manufacturing development phase from roughly $1.8 billion to $2.7 billion in May — an increase of about $900 million tied, the service says, to new information about program costs.
Navy raises EMD price cap to $2.7 billion
The service originally solicited bids in March with a price ceiling of roughly $1.8 billion for the Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) EMD phase, a cap that included up to seven low-rate initial production (LRIP) aircraft. In May, an updated request for proposals raised that ceiling to $2.7 billion. “The Government updated the price cap to reflect a change in the program cost estimate due to new information received,” Naval Air Systems Command said in a statement to Breaking Defense.
Program quantities and contract scope cited in reporting
The original March solicitation explicitly wrapped a small LRIP buy into the EMD phase; the updated RFP maintains the EMD construct but at the higher ceiling. Aviation Week first reported the price-cap change and earlier reported that the Navy is seeking to order up to 216 aircraft, a quantity figure that has been cited in coverage of the program.
Competitors and offerings named in the contest
Several firms are listed in published reporting as competing for UJTS. Textron Aviation Defense is offering the Beechcraft M-346N in partnership with Leonardo; a Textron spokesperson told Breaking Defense the firm “remains focused on delivering a proven training solution in the Beechcraft M-346N that meets the Navy’s Undergraduate Jet Training System mission needs.”
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), together with Northrop Grumman and General Atomics, is offering the Freedom Trainer. Breaking Defense reported SNC did not respond to a request for comment on the price-cap change by press time. Boeing has previously said it is competing for UJTS but declined to comment on this reporting and referred questions to the Navy.
SNC concerns and Lockheed Martin’s exit
Jon Piatt, SNC’s executive vice president for ISR, aviation and security, had previously flagged the original $1.8 billion cap as problematic. “I am a little bit surprised that for something this important, for the next generation of trainer, that the Navy would make a decision to put a cap on a development program that is already going to be hamstrung by budget constraints in the first two years of what has currently been budgeted,” Piatt told Breaking Defense in April. “It’s a big challenge. It could be a big obstacle.”
Breaking Defense also reported in April that Lockheed Martin had exited the trainer jet competition after it was lined up to offer the TF-50N with Korea Aerospace Industries. When asked whether Lockheed would reconsider given the new price cap, a Lockheed Martin spokesperson said the company “continually evaluate[s] opportunities across our portfolio to ensure alignment with our customers’ missions and our business strategy,” and that it “remain[s] committed to providing the best capabilities to our U.S. military and global partners and will continue to engage with our customers to understand their evolving requirements.”
How Textron, SNC, and the Navy are responding
- Textron Aviation Defense: The company is publicly emphasizing continuity — it confirmed the M-346N bid remains focused on meeting the Navy’s mission needs after the cap change.
- SNC and partners (Northrop Grumman, General Atomics): SNC’s executive expressed concern that a low cap would hamper development; SNC did not return a comment on the raised ceiling, underscoring industry sensitivity to program funding assumptions.
- The Navy / Naval Air Systems Command: The service adjusted the cap in the May RFP, attributing the change to “new information received” that altered the program cost estimate and thereby the government’s price cap for the EMD phase.
The May adjustment closes an episode in which industry pushback and program cost estimates intersected publicly: the Navy moved the ceiling upward by roughly $900 million and issued an updated request for proposals. The change leaves the competition — and the firms vying to supply the Navy’s next-generation jet trainer — operating against a new budget baseline while the contest proceeds under the terms of the revised RFP.
Source: Breaking Defense, “Navy lifts price ceiling for new trainer jet,” June 2026
