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The U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy have joined forces and plan to select a new primary training aircraft in February 1994. The Air Force needs a T-37 replacement in the 1990s and the Navy wants to begin replacing its T-34Cs about 2002.
The overall program, designated the joint primary aircraft training system (JPATS), is based on purchasing an existing aircraft and tailoring it to meet service requirements. While the initial goal was to buy an off-the-shelf, non-developmental item (NDI) aircraft, it became obvious that most of the aircraft would require at least some modifications; as a result, it is now referred to as a modified NDI program.
The JPATS program consists of three parts:
- Aircraft
>• Ground based training system
- Integrated logistics support
No U.S. aerospace company has an aircraft that meets the proposed requirements; all have teamed with European or Latin American firms. The contenders to date (this page): the Northrop-Embraer EMB-312 Super Tucano turboprop proof-of-concept aircraft (left) and the Lockheed- Aermacchi MB-339A (right). Opposite page: two LTV- FMA IA-63s that will be modified into Pampa 2000s (top); the Grumman-Agusta S211 (center, left); artist’s concept of the Rockwell-Messerschmitt Bolkow Blohm Fan Rangef (center, right); and the Beech-Pilatus PC-9 Mk II.
90
roceedings / September 1992