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McDonnell Douglas T-45 Goshawk
The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) T-45 Goshawk is a highly modified version of the British BAE Systems Hawk land-based training jet aircraft. Manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) and British Aerospace (now BAE Systems), the T-45 is used by the United States Navy as an aircraft carrier-capable trainer.
The T-45 Goshawk has its origins in the mid-1970s, during which time the U.S. Navy formally commenced its search for a new jet trainer aircraft to serve as a single replacement for both its T-2 Buckeye and TA-4 Skyhawk trainers. During 1978, the VTXTS advanced trainer program to meet this need was formally launched by the U.S. Navy. An Anglo-American team, comprising British aviation manufacturer British Aerospace (BAe) and American aircraft company McDonnell Douglas (MDC), decided to submit their proposal for a navalised version of BAe's land-based Hawk trainer. Other manufacturers also submitted bids, such as a rival team of French aircraft company Dassault Aviation, German manufacturer Dornier, who offered their Alpha Jet to fulfil the requirement, and American aerospace company Lockheed.
The VTX-TS competition was not simply for the procurement of an aircraft in isolation; it comprised five core areas: the aircraft itself, capable flight simulators, matured academic training aids, integrated logistic support, and program management. For their proposal, MDC was the prime contractor and systems integrator, BAe functioned as the principal subcontractor and partner for the aircraft element, Rolls-Royce provided the Adour engine to power the aircraft, and Sperry is the principal subcontractor for the simulator system. During November 1981, the U.S. Navy announced that it had selected the Hawk as the winner of the VTX-TS competition. Reportedly, approximately 60 per cent of the work on the T-45 program was undertaken overseas in Britain. During September 1982, a Full Scale Engineering Development contract was awarded to the MDC team to fully develop and produce the proposed aircraft, which had been designated T-45 Goshawk. On 16 April 1988, the first T-45A Goshawk conducted its maiden flight.
Work on the production of the Goshawk was divided between the two primary partner companies. BAE Systems (BAe's successor following its merger with Marconi Electronic Systems during 1999) was responsible for manufacturing the fuselage aft of the cockpit, along with the air inlets, and the vertical stabilizer of the T-45 at their Samlesbury facility, while the wings were produced at the company's plant at Brough, England. Boeing (which had merged with McDonnell Douglas during 1997) performed the manufacture of the remaining elements of the Goshawk, as well as conducting assembly of the type at a production line at St. Louis, Missouri, after having transferred work on the program from the company's facility in Long Beach, California.
The Goshawk retained the typical powerplant used by the Hawk, the Rolls-Royce Adour turbofan jet engine. During the mid-1990s, Rolls-Royce worked on establishing a US-based production line for the Adour engine, which was to be operated by the former Allison Engine Company (which had been recently acquired by Rolls-Royce in 1995); however, during September 1997, the U.S. Navy chose to terminate the partially-finished engine effort. Around this time, the U.S. Navy was greatly interested in potentially adopting another powerplant, the International Turbine Engine Company's F124 turbofan engine, for the Goshawk. On 7 October 1996, a T-45A test aircraft flew, powered by the rival F124 engine.
Early production aircraft were designated T-45A. From December 1997 onwards, later-built production Goshawks were constructed with enhanced avionics systems, which included the adoption of a glass cockpit and head-up display (HUD); as such, they were designated T-45C. From 2003 onwards, all of the extant T-45A trainer aircraft were eventually converted to the more modern T-45C configuration under the T-45 Required Avionics Modernization Program. This program brought the U.S. Navy's trainers to an identical Cockpit 21 standard, which incorporated both the HUD and the glass cockpit, which had the benefit of making the trainers more similar to the U.S. Navy's frontline fighter aircraft. On 16 March 2007, it was announced that the 200th Goshawk had been delivered to the U.S. Navy. During November 2009, the 221st aircraft, the final aircraft to be produced, was delivered.
During early 2008, it was announced by the US Navy that several of its T-45C Goshawks would be outfitted with a synthetic radar capability to allow them to support rear crew training requirements, and that it was considering a possible requirement for a follow-on order for such equipped models of the type. An initial batch of 19 T-45Cs equipped with this virtual mission training system (VMTS), which simulates the capabilities of the US Navy's Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet's Raytheon APG-73 radar (including ground mapping, air-to-ground and air-to-air targeting modes, along with an electronic warfare training capability) were delivered to the Navy's Undergraduate Military Flight Officer training school at Pensacola, Florida. The type was used to prepare weapon system and electronic warfare operators for the Super Hornet and the Boeing EA-18G Growler.
Both McDonnell Douglas and Boeing have made multiple approaches to potential overseas customers, typically offering the Goshawk in the trainer role. During the mid-1990s, McDonnell Douglas teamed up with Rockwell International to jointly bid the T-45 as a replacement for the Royal Australian Air Force's jet trainer fleet in competition against, amongst others, the Hawk that the type had been derived from. Marketing efforts to acquire export customers were intensified following a cut in the procurement rate by the U.S. Navy during 2003; according to Lon Nordeen, T-45 business development manager, Israel had been identified as having a potential requirement for the type. During late 2006, the company promoted the concept of an advanced variant of the T-45C Goshawk to Greece, emphasising its close compatibility with the Beechcraft T-6A Texan II trainer already operated by the country. During early 2007, Boeing VP Mark Kronenberg stated that the company had held discussions with the Indian Navy, which had an anticipated requirement for naval training aircraft.
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McDonnell Douglas T-45 Goshawk AI simulator
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McDonnell Douglas T-45 Goshawk
The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) T-45 Goshawk is a highly modified version of the British BAE Systems Hawk land-based training jet aircraft. Manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) and British Aerospace (now BAE Systems), the T-45 is used by the United States Navy as an aircraft carrier-capable trainer.
The T-45 Goshawk has its origins in the mid-1970s, during which time the U.S. Navy formally commenced its search for a new jet trainer aircraft to serve as a single replacement for both its T-2 Buckeye and TA-4 Skyhawk trainers. During 1978, the VTXTS advanced trainer program to meet this need was formally launched by the U.S. Navy. An Anglo-American team, comprising British aviation manufacturer British Aerospace (BAe) and American aircraft company McDonnell Douglas (MDC), decided to submit their proposal for a navalised version of BAe's land-based Hawk trainer. Other manufacturers also submitted bids, such as a rival team of French aircraft company Dassault Aviation, German manufacturer Dornier, who offered their Alpha Jet to fulfil the requirement, and American aerospace company Lockheed.
The VTX-TS competition was not simply for the procurement of an aircraft in isolation; it comprised five core areas: the aircraft itself, capable flight simulators, matured academic training aids, integrated logistic support, and program management. For their proposal, MDC was the prime contractor and systems integrator, BAe functioned as the principal subcontractor and partner for the aircraft element, Rolls-Royce provided the Adour engine to power the aircraft, and Sperry is the principal subcontractor for the simulator system. During November 1981, the U.S. Navy announced that it had selected the Hawk as the winner of the VTX-TS competition. Reportedly, approximately 60 per cent of the work on the T-45 program was undertaken overseas in Britain. During September 1982, a Full Scale Engineering Development contract was awarded to the MDC team to fully develop and produce the proposed aircraft, which had been designated T-45 Goshawk. On 16 April 1988, the first T-45A Goshawk conducted its maiden flight.
Work on the production of the Goshawk was divided between the two primary partner companies. BAE Systems (BAe's successor following its merger with Marconi Electronic Systems during 1999) was responsible for manufacturing the fuselage aft of the cockpit, along with the air inlets, and the vertical stabilizer of the T-45 at their Samlesbury facility, while the wings were produced at the company's plant at Brough, England. Boeing (which had merged with McDonnell Douglas during 1997) performed the manufacture of the remaining elements of the Goshawk, as well as conducting assembly of the type at a production line at St. Louis, Missouri, after having transferred work on the program from the company's facility in Long Beach, California.
The Goshawk retained the typical powerplant used by the Hawk, the Rolls-Royce Adour turbofan jet engine. During the mid-1990s, Rolls-Royce worked on establishing a US-based production line for the Adour engine, which was to be operated by the former Allison Engine Company (which had been recently acquired by Rolls-Royce in 1995); however, during September 1997, the U.S. Navy chose to terminate the partially-finished engine effort. Around this time, the U.S. Navy was greatly interested in potentially adopting another powerplant, the International Turbine Engine Company's F124 turbofan engine, for the Goshawk. On 7 October 1996, a T-45A test aircraft flew, powered by the rival F124 engine.
Early production aircraft were designated T-45A. From December 1997 onwards, later-built production Goshawks were constructed with enhanced avionics systems, which included the adoption of a glass cockpit and head-up display (HUD); as such, they were designated T-45C. From 2003 onwards, all of the extant T-45A trainer aircraft were eventually converted to the more modern T-45C configuration under the T-45 Required Avionics Modernization Program. This program brought the U.S. Navy's trainers to an identical Cockpit 21 standard, which incorporated both the HUD and the glass cockpit, which had the benefit of making the trainers more similar to the U.S. Navy's frontline fighter aircraft. On 16 March 2007, it was announced that the 200th Goshawk had been delivered to the U.S. Navy. During November 2009, the 221st aircraft, the final aircraft to be produced, was delivered.
During early 2008, it was announced by the US Navy that several of its T-45C Goshawks would be outfitted with a synthetic radar capability to allow them to support rear crew training requirements, and that it was considering a possible requirement for a follow-on order for such equipped models of the type. An initial batch of 19 T-45Cs equipped with this virtual mission training system (VMTS), which simulates the capabilities of the US Navy's Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet's Raytheon APG-73 radar (including ground mapping, air-to-ground and air-to-air targeting modes, along with an electronic warfare training capability) were delivered to the Navy's Undergraduate Military Flight Officer training school at Pensacola, Florida. The type was used to prepare weapon system and electronic warfare operators for the Super Hornet and the Boeing EA-18G Growler.
Both McDonnell Douglas and Boeing have made multiple approaches to potential overseas customers, typically offering the Goshawk in the trainer role. During the mid-1990s, McDonnell Douglas teamed up with Rockwell International to jointly bid the T-45 as a replacement for the Royal Australian Air Force's jet trainer fleet in competition against, amongst others, the Hawk that the type had been derived from. Marketing efforts to acquire export customers were intensified following a cut in the procurement rate by the U.S. Navy during 2003; according to Lon Nordeen, T-45 business development manager, Israel had been identified as having a potential requirement for the type. During late 2006, the company promoted the concept of an advanced variant of the T-45C Goshawk to Greece, emphasising its close compatibility with the Beechcraft T-6A Texan II trainer already operated by the country. During early 2007, Boeing VP Mark Kronenberg stated that the company had held discussions with the Indian Navy, which had an anticipated requirement for naval training aircraft.