Despite training successive generations of naval aviators, the T-45’s tenure is nearing its end.
For over thirty years, the McDonnell Douglas T-45C Goshawk has been used to train student pilots for the US Navy and the US Marine Corps. Adapted from the British BAE Hawk, the T-45 was redesigned for carrier operations—equipped with stronger landing gear, a tail hook, and a strengthened airframe. Never designed to overwhelm the enemy with speed or agility, the T-45 was instead built to introduce young pilots to the demands of tactical jet aviation, including the use of afterburners, high-G maneuvering, and carrier operations.
The T-45 Goshawk’s Specifications
- Year Introduced: 1991 (entered US Navy service as a carrier-capable trainer based on the British BAE Hawk)
- Number Built: ~221 aircraft produced for the US Navy and Marine Corps
- Length: 39 ft 4 in (11.9 m)
- Height: 13 ft 6 in (4.1 m)
- Wingspan: 30 ft 9 in (9.4 m)
- Weight:
- Empty weight: ~10,900 lb (4,950 kg)
- Maximum takeoff weight (MTOW): ~14,500 lb (6,577 kg)
- Engine: One Rolls-Royce/Turbomeca Adour Mk 871 turbofan (~5,845 lbf thrust)
- Top Speed: ~645 mph (1,038 km/h; Mach 0.95 at altitude)
- Cruise Speed: ~516 mph (830 km/h; Mach 0.8)
- Range: ~900 nmi (1,667 km; 1,040 mi)
- Service Ceiling: ~42,500 ft (12,950 m)
- Rate of Climb: ~9,000 ft/min (45.7 m/s)
- Loadout / Equipment:
- Training ordnance (practice bombs, rockets, and guns) for advanced strike training
- Carrier approach and landing system (strengthened gear, tailhook)
- Modernized “glass cockpit” in the later T-45C variant
- Aircrew: 2 (student pilot + instructor)
The T-45 Does Not Hide Pilot Error
For student pilots, the T-45 is both forgiving and demanding depending on the circumstances. At moderate speeds and in a clean configuration, the T-45 flies beautifully, with a responsive, light stick and predictable performance. However, at the edges of the envelope, where students are practicing higher angles of attack, abrupt roll, or even carrier approaches with the gear down, the T-45 can reveal a set of quirks that make for an uncompromising trainer aircraft.
One of the T-45’s most glaring shortfalls is its tendency to bleed energy quickly. With only one Rolls-Royce Adour turbofan engine, students have little margin for sloppy throttle work. With the T-45’s low-mounted, swept-geometry wings, control inputs must be precise, especially during final approach for a carrier landing.
The T-45 requires pilots to constantly trim, pay attention to energy state, and maintain unwavering discipline. The aircraft does not mask pilot errors in the same way that preliminary trainers, such as the T-6 Texan II, often do. For example, should a T-45 pilot flare too much on landing, they will not just bounce, but miss the arresting wires entirely. Likewise, a pilot who allows the aircraft’s nose to drift too high in a turn will quickly discover how quickly the T-45 trades airspeed for altitude—leading to the aircraft losing speed and becoming very difficult to recover.
The T-45 Is Headed for a Well-Deserved Retirement
Despite training successive generations of naval aviators, the T-45’s tenure is nearing its end. The airframes are aging, having logged thousands of carrier landings performed by students, who often exert more strenuous demands on the aircraft than seasoned pilots.
While the aircraft are still effective—and could be used for many more years, given regular maintenance—they have also become outdated relative to modern aircraft, undermining their purpose as a trainer. A pilot who masters the T-45 is no longer sufficiently equipped to prepare pilots for the realities of handling upgraded McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Super Hornets or Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning IIs. While the T-45’s cockpit, originally all analog, was recently upgraded to glass, it still lags behind modern frontline fighters. In addition, maintenance costs have begun to rise as structural fatigue becomes increasingly apparent—and the fleet suffers from recurring oxygen system issues that have proven to be nagging.
Accordingly, the Navy intends to phase out its T-45s by 2030. Plans are in place to procure a new training aircraft through the Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) program. The UJTS replacement is expected to be a derivative of the Boeing-Saab T-7A Red Hawk—which will also become the US Air Force’s new primary trainer, replacing the Northrop T-38 Talon, which debuted in the 1950s.
About the Author: Harrison Kass
Harrison Kass is a senior defense and national security writer at The National Interest. Kass is an attorney and former political candidate who joined the US Air Force as a pilot trainee before being medically discharged. He focuses on military strategy, aerospace, and global security affairs. He holds a JD from the University of Oregon and a master’s in Global Journalism and International Relations from NYU.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
