T-45C Engine Shortages Force Waivers for Some Student Aviators

ARLINGTON, Va. — Training of some U.S. Marine Corps student aviators in carrier qualifications temporarily has been waived because of a shortage of engines for T-45C Goshawk jet training aircraft, a U.S. Navy spokeswoman said. The shortage also is forcing a reduction in part of the syllabus for Navy student aviators. 

“Due to a shortage of T-45C engines, Chief of Naval Air Training temporarily waived a portion of the advanced strike syllabus for Navy T-45C students, and the carrier qualification syllabus for U.S. Marine Corps T-45C students who will fly the F/A-18C Hornet, F-35B Lightning II, and AV-8B Harrier, which do not deploy on aircraft carriers,” said Lt. Michelle Tucker, a spokeswoman for the Chief of Naval Air Training at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas.  

“These temporary waivers account for about 10% of the original syllabus,” Tucker said. “Each service branch chose which parts of the syllabus to waive based on how their respective fleet aircraft are employed. The U.S. Marine Corps chose to retain the tactical skillsets over carrier qualifications while the Navy retained carrier qualifications during this period. The Navy and Marine Corps will re-evaluate this decision once production has returned to normal levels.” 

Because Marine F/A-18Cs no longer are scheduled to deploy on aircraft carriers — the last squadron to do so is currently deployed — the only Marine aviators needing carrier qualification in the foreseeable future are F-35C pilots. 

During the Vietnam War, because of the high demand for pilots, some Marine aviators bound for tactical jet squadrons were trained by the Air Force and joined their first squadrons — land-based — without carrier qualification.  

Training Wing 1 at NAS Meridian, Mississippi, and Training Air Wing 2 at NAS Kingsville, Texas, conduct all of the Navy’s strike training and carrier qualification for student naval aviators in the T-45C.