Textron Aviation Defense has pledged said that, if awarded the Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) contract by the U.S. Navy, it would assemble the Beechcraft M-346N at its east campus in Wichita, Kansas, the historic home of the Beechcraft brand for nearly a century.

The company expected to invest more than $38 million to modernise over 50,000 square feet of existing manufacturing space and create around 100 direct manufacturing jobs in Wichita, along with additional indirect employment supporting aircraft production and assembly.

“Wichita has long been the centre of innovation for Beechcraft and we’re proud to continue that tradition as we prepare to support the Navy’s next-generation training needs,” says Travis Tyler, president and CEO at Textron Aviation Defense. “This announcement underscores our 85-year legacy of supporting the U.S. government with training aircraft from the American heartland.”

The Beechcraft M-346N is the centrepiece of a low-risk, operationally proven integrated training system with Live-Virtual-Constructive capabilities for advanced naval training. With over 100 M-346 aircraft produced by Leonardo and a decade of service training aviators for fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft, it offers a reliable, high-performance solution for the Navy’s future training needs.

Textron Aviation Defense anticipates the Navy will announce the UJTS contract award in January 2027 and believes it is well positioned to help achieve the service’s goal of accelerating Initial Operational Capability.