T-45 Navy Jet Trainer Fleet Grounded After Engine Incident

The T-45 fleet was grounded multiple times last year, as well, and a replacement has been pushed off farther into the future.

By Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Mar 13, 2025

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T-45 Goshawks rest aboard Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort as part of the advanced course of the Student Naval Aviator strike pilot training program Sept. 15. The Goshawk is a fully carrier-capable version of the British Aerospace Hawk Mk-60. It was developed as a jet flight trainer for the Navy and Marine Corps. The T-45s are with Training Air Wing 1 from Naval Air Station Meridian, Miss. and TRAWING-2 from NAS Kingsville, Texas. The TRAWINGs chose MCAS Beaufort as an alternate training site due to its accommodations and facilities for jet aircraft.
  Sgt. Dengrier Baez

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The U.S. Navy has temporarily grounded its T-45C Goshawk trainer fleet after the Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Adour F405-RR-401 engine in one of the aircraft suffered damage due to a malfunction on Tuesday. The jet was on the ground at the time.

In a reply to our inquiries on the potential of grounding of the T-45 fleet, the Navy’s Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA) and Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) both replied with the following:

“Out of an abundance of caution, operations of all T-45C Goshawk aircraft have been paused while the Chief of Naval Air Training and Naval Air Systems Command assess the fleet’s ability to safely resume training. At approximately 3 p.m. CST on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, a T-45C Goshawk assigned to Training Air Wing 2 in Kingsville, Texas, experienced an engine malfunction prior to takeoff. The aircrew sustained no injuries. Damage to the aircraft engine was reported. CNATRA is investigating the incident as NAVAIR spearheads the engineering investigation. As always, the safety of our aircrews remains top priority.“

A T-45 Goshawk training aircraft is waved off from making an arrested landing aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. The T-45 is used for intermediate and advanced portions of the Navy and Marine Corps pilot training program for jet carrier aviation and tactical strike missions. Roosevelt is conducting carrier qualifications in the Atlantic Ocean.
A T-45 Goshawk training aircraft is waved off from making an arrested landing aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). The T-45 is used for intermediate and advanced portions of the Navy and Marine Corps pilot training program for jet carrier aviation and tactical strike missions. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonathan Snyder (Released) MC3 JONATHAN SNYDER, USN

The T-45 fleet acts as the Navy’s singular fast jet trainer aircraft, taking prospective naval aviators from their first jet hop to landing on the carrier along their path to earning their coveted wings of gold. The aircraft has been in service for three-and-a-half decades and the Navy has been exploring replacement options and concepts, although the timeline for acquiring this new aircraft was pushed back substantially last year.

The Goshawk has had its fair share of issues in recent years, from a high-profile onboard oxygen generation issue to a number of crashes. Just last year, the T-45 fleet was grounded twice due to engine issues. Another grounding occurred in 2022 over the jet’s powerplant.

Around 190 T-45s fly for the U.S. Navy today. With yet another stand-down of operations over the jet’s engine, it will be interesting to see if the Navy changes course and accelerates the replacement of the Goshawk fleet.

A T-45C Goshawk training aircraft, assigned to Training Squadron (VT) 22 lands on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) during flight operations in the Atlantic Ocean, Aug. 8, 2023. George Washington is underway in support of carrier qualifications. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman August Clawson)
A T-45C Goshawk training aircraft, assigned to Training Squadron (VT) 22, lands on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) during flight operations in the Atlantic Ocean, Aug. 8, 2023. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman August Clawson) MCSN August Clawson

Howard Altman contributed to this story.

Contact the author: Tyler@twz.com

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Tyler Rogoway

Editor-in-Chief

Tyler’s passion is the study of military technology, strategy, and foreign policy and he has fostered a dominant voice on those topics in the defense media space. He was the creator of the hugely popular defense site Foxtrot Alpha before developing The War Zone.