L-3 receives $173M contract for T-45 trainer testing

Aug. 24 (UPI) -- L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace is receiving a $173 million contract for depot level maintenance, logistics and engineering for flight testing of the T-45 Goshawk training aircraft, the Department of Defense announced on Wednesday.

The contract includes aircraft systems and support equipment for the testing and evaluation of the T-45. The work will primarily take place at Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas, and Naval Air Station Meridian, Miss., with an expected completion date of September 2018.

Much of the Navy's T-45 fleet was grounded for nearly a month in March and April after multiple reports of physiological and hypoxia-like symptoms during operation of the aircraft. After the ban was lifted, instructors were restricted to flying under 10,000 in the aircraft to avoid using its On Board Oxygen Generation System.

The Navy has still been unable to determine the cause of the problems but are using improved sensors and modified oxygen masks as a stop-gap measure.

The Navy has been struggling with oxygen system issues that have led to multiple groundings of aircraft, including the T-45 and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and been connected to four deaths. The Navy is still investigating the cause of the problems but has not released information on them.

The T-45 Goshawk is a tandem-seat training jet capable of aircraft carrier operations. It is a U.S. Navy version of the British Aerospace Hawk aircraft and is used by both the Navy and Marine Corps for pilot training. Variants of the aircraft have been in use since 1991.