06/22/95:AIR FORCE SELECTS BEECH AIRCRAFT CORPORA

Secretary of the Air Force Dr. Sheila E. Widnall announced selection of BeechAircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas, to develop and deliver the JointPrimary Aircraft Training System (JPATS), the Air Force and Navy replacementfor the Air Force's T-37B and the Navy's T-34C aircraft, which are 36 and 21years old, respectively. The current program calls for buying up to 711 totalproduction aircraft, 372 for the Air Force and 339 for the Navy. The JPATSmanufacturing development, production, and initial support program has beenbudgeted at $7 billion. However, it is anticipated that the final program costwill be less than this amount. The final price for the initial acquisition andcontractor logistics contracts with Beech cannot be publicly released untilafter contract award.

JPATS is being acquired as the primary trainer aircraft for the nextgeneration of U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy entry-level student aviators. Theneed for JPATS was identified in a 1989 Department of Defense (DOD) TrainerAircraft Master Plan. In addition to its primary mission of training entrylevel student pilots, JPATS will also support Undergraduate Naval FlightOfficer Training (UNFO) and USAF Navigator Training.

The JPATS aircraft will provide major improvements in several important areas,including: missionized ejection seats, improved birdstrike protection,electronic flight

instrumentation and digital cockpit display, pressurized cockpit, andflexibility to accommodate a broad range of candidate pilots, both male andfemale.

Following approval by the Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) which is scheduledin August, the program will enter the Manufacturing Development (MD) Phase, andthe

Air Force as the lead service will award two contracts to Beech AircraftCorporation: one for aircraft missionization and production options, and onefor contractor logistics support.

The JPATS selection culminates an extensive source selection process thatbegan in a formal sense on May 18, 1994, when the Request for Proposal wasreleased. The source selection team consisted of Air Force and Navy personnelrepresenting the joint program office, the operational training commands, theresponsible test organizations, and both service headquarters. The sourceselection process included assessments of each offeror's proposals and flightevaluation of all seven candidate aircraft.

The seven companies which submitted proposals, listed in the order in whichthey completed their flight evaluations were: Grumman, headquartered inBethpage, N.Y., which offered the S211A JPATS; Vought, headquartered in Dallas,Tex., which offered the Pampa 2000; Rockwell, headquartered in Seal Beach,Calif., which offered the Ranger 2000; Cessna, headquartered in Wichita,Kansas, which offered the Cessna 526; Northrop, headquartered in Los Angeles,Calif., which offered the Tucano II; Lockheed, headquartered in Marietta,Georgia, which offered the T-Bird II; and Beech, headquartered in Wichita,Kansas, which offered the Mk II.

Although the cost of the JPATS initial aircraft development, production, andlogistics support contracts will be determined by Beech's proposal, DABdecisions will also consider estimates of total program cost to includeproduction of up to 711 aircraft, development and production of the GroundBased Training System (GBTS), and operations and support for 24 years ofprojected use.

Once the contracts are awarded, Beech Aircraft Corporation, will begin acompetitive selection process for the JPATS Ground-Based Training System(GBTS), which will contain JPATS flight and ground simulators, trainingcourseware, and a management information system for tracking student traininginformation.

Production is planned to begin in November 1995 and extend through 2017.First flight of the first JPATS aircraft off the production line is planned forDecember 1998.

The JPATS program is being managed by the Flight Training System ProgramOffice (SPO) at the Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC), Wright-Patterson AFB,Dayton, Ohio. The Flight Training Program Director is Col. John L. Hudson andthe JPATS Program Manager is Lt. Col. Frank Szalejko.

Additional information on the JPATS program can be obtained from the Office ofPublic Affairs at ASC, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, (513) 255-2725.

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