TH-73A “Thrasher” - Program
In January 2020, the Navy awarded a contract to AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corporation (Leonardo), to acquire 130 TH-73A helicopters that will replace the 35 year-old TH-57 Sea Ranger Helicopter training system and will meet advanced rotary wing and intermediate tilt-rotor training requirements for the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard through 2050. Leonardo Helicopters is contracted to deliver 32 Thrashers in calendar year 2021 for a total of 130 through 2024 before the Sea Ranger’s scheduled sundown in 2025 and will provide the Navy the capacity to train several hundred aviation students per year.
The U.S. Navy announced on Jan. 13, 2020 that AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corporation (Leonardo) was awarded a contract for $176.5M for the production of 32 TH-73A helicopters in support of the Advanced Helicopter Training System (AHTS) program. Five proposals were submitted for the contract. The new firm fixed price TH-73A contract was awarded on a best-value tradeoff basis with a base and three one-year options. The base year contract is for $176.5M for 32 aircraft. The total contract value is $648.1M for the procurement of 130 aircraft. Helicopter deliveries are scheduled to begin in calendar year 2020 and continue through calendar year 2024.
“Today marks a great team effort to procure and deliver a helicopter trainer for the next generation of helicopter and tilt-rotor pilots for the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard,” said James F. Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition. “I’m proud of the aggressive work the team did to leverage the commercial industrial base to get this capability to the warfighters, and our nation, at the best value to the taxpayer. This effort is key to ensure the readiness of our Naval Aviators for decades to come.”
Five proposals were submitted for the contract. The new firm fixed price TH-73A contract was awarded on a best-value tradeoff basis with a base and three one-year options. The base year contract is for $176.5M for 32 aircraft. The total contract value is $648.1M for the procurement of 130 aircraft. Helicopter deliveries are scheduled to begin in calendar year 2020 and continue through calendar year 2024.
The new helicopter would meet advanced rotary wing and intermediate tilt-rotor training requirements for the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard through 2050. The TH-73A would be manufactured in United States with assembly taking place, through FAA Airworthiness certification, in the contractor’s FAA Part 21 facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In addition to the TH-73A, the contract includes initial spares, peculiar support equipment, flyaway kits, hoists, sling loads, data in excess of Commercial Form Fit Function (FFF) / Operations Maintenance Instructional Training (OMIT) Data, as well as ancillary instructor pilot & maintenance personnel training. The award is the culmination of a competitive source selection process supported by personnel from the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) and the Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA).
“The new Leonardo TH-73A helicopters are the cornerstone of AHTS, which is the planned replacement to address the capability and capacity gaps of the current aging TH-57 Sea Ranger helicopter training platform,” said Capt. Todd St. Laurent, Naval Undergraduate Flight Training Systems (PMA-273) Program Manager. “The TH-73A will provide a modern helicopter training platform that will serve rotary and tiltrotor training requirements into the foreseeable future. These new helicopters will ensure the Navy has capacity to train several hundred aviation students per year at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whiting Field in Milton, Florida.” PMA-273, at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, oversees AHTS.
Instructor pilot training for the new TH-73A Advanced Helicopter Training System (AHTS) began in June 2020 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.
On 25 August 2020 FlightSafety Services Corp., Denver, Colorado, was awarded a $220,766,476 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aircrew training services for the TH-73A Advanced Helicopter Training System to include flight training devices (FTD) and classroom instruction to train student naval aviators (SNAs) to the standards necessary to meet an annual pilot production rate of over 600 advanced rotary wing and intermediate tilt-rotor SNAs. Additionally, it provides for the operation and maintenance of FTDs. Work will be performed in Milton, Florida, and is expected to be completed in June 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposal; two offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity (N61340-20-D-0021).
On 12 November 2020 AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corp., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was awarded a $171,047,763 modification (P00006) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract N61340-20-C-0007. This modification exercises options for the production and delivery of 36 TH-73A aircraft in support of the Advanced Helicopter Training System program. Work will be performed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (87%); Mineral Wells, Texas (5%); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (8%), and is expected to be completed in December 2022. Fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $171,047,763 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
The first operational TH-73A “Thrasher” training helicopter landed at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whiting Field in Milton, 06 August 2021. The helicopter was assigned to Training Air Wing (TW) 5 and will replace Chief of Naval Air Training’s (CNATRA) TH-57B/C Sea Ranger as the undergraduate training helicopter for the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. The helicopter made the two-day transit to the base from the Leonardo Helicopters facility in Philadelphia, where the aircraft was manufactured. CNATRA leadership welcomed the aircraft alongside representatives from Leonardo Helicopters, Vertex Aerospace, who will provide maintenance support for the TH-73A, in addition to local community leaders.
“This delivery signifies a new era for Naval Aviation training," said Capt. Holly Shoger, Naval Undergraduate Flight Training Systems Program Office (PMA-273) program manager. “The combined government and contractor team set new standards to meet much needed requirements in the fleet. We are proud to develop and provide these new capabilities that will improve pilot training for many years to come."
The TH-73A Helicopter Instructor Training Unit (HITU) team under TW-5 at NAS Whiting Field used the first Thrasher to validate the modernized curriculum efforts, which is a requirement prior to training student naval aviators with the new curriculum in the new system.
The TH-73As were housed in a temporary hangar at NAS Whiting Field, while construction of a new helicopter maintenance hangar on base was slated to begin in 2023. Leonardo Helicopters also established a TH-73A maintenance support team at Santa Rosa County’s new aviation customer service hangar at Peter Prince Airport in Milton.
The TH-73A AHTS reached 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.
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