The TH-73A AHTS Is Expected To Be In Service For Approximately 30 Years

Instructor pilot training for the new TH-73A Advanced Helicopter Training System (AHTS) began in June with the first two instructor pilots from Training Air Wing (TAW) 5 getting classroom and hands-on experience at the AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corporation (Leonardo) facility in Philadelphia.

The TH-73A AHTS will reach Initial Operational Capability in 2021 and will provide the training tools needed to produce the next generations of rotary and tilt-rotor pilots for the U.S. and select allied nations, thus ensuring the future readiness of Naval Aviation. AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corporation (Leonardo) will produce 130 helicopters to fulfill advanced rotary wing and intermediate tilt-rotor training requirements for the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard through 2050.

The TH-73A Advanced Helicopter Training System (AHTS) improves pilot training and skills by using current cockpit technologies and modernized training curriculum that reflect the capabilities in the current Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard inventory. Using a skills-based approach to training, with just-in-time methodology, incorporating modern technology, AHTS will ensure Rotary Wing Aviators are produced at a higher quality, more efficiently, ready to meet the challenges faced in the fleet.

The TH-73A AHTS is expected to be in service for approximately 30 years. It is the replacement for 35-year-old TH-57Bs and TH-57Cs, which will begin sundown in FY22 and concludes in the FY24 timeframe.

The Naval Undergraduate Flight Training Systems Program Office (PMA-273) at Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, oversees the TH-73A AHTS. The acquisition, development and maintenance of six trainer aircraft fall under the purview of the program office for its customer, the Chief of Naval Aviation Training (CNATRA). Those aircraft are: T-45 Goshawk, T-6/JPATS Texan II, T-44 Pegasus, T-34 Turbomentor, TH-57 Sea Ranger and TH-73A, as well as the UMFO program. These aircraft and programs also include related simulator suites, academic materials, computer-based training integration systems, and contractor logistics support.

FMI: www.navair.mil