Lockheed Martin touts training solution for US Army's Flight School Next

The US Army is considering a new basic training system for its helicopter pilots to potentially replace its UH-72 Lakota aircraft. The first of 18 Airbus UH-72B Lakota helicopters (above) was delivered to the US Army on 7 September 2021. (Airbus)

Lockheed Martin is offering a training solution to meet US Army requirements for a new basic training model for helicopter pilots under the Flight School Next programme. The army issued a request for information for the programme in October 2024.

Lockheed Martin anticipates a draft request for proposals (RFP) by the end of the year, Jay Pitman, vice-president and general manager for training, logistics, and simulation at Lockheed Martin's Rotary and Mission Systems business, told journalists during a media briefing on 12 May, ahead of the Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA) conference in Nashville, Tennessee, from 14 to 16 May.

“We approach turnkey training as a true partner throughout the entire learning life cycle,” he said. “What that means is, we're the customer's partner and single point of accountability to provide that end-to-end training experience,” Pitman added. “That means everything from designing courseware, securing facilities and instructors, everything on the sustainment, training assets, and the procuring of those assets, [and] providing advanced modelling and simulation capability,” he explained.

Turnkey training solutions are about “having better prepared students”, reducing attrition and training timelines, as well as reducing overall costs “compared to traditional training approaches”, Pitman added.

He highlighted Lockheed Martin's experience providing its solution to the Australian and British armed forces and Republic of Singapore Air Force, which Pitman said reflected what the US Army is looking for in Flight School Next.