Advanced Helicopter Training System Team Wins Navy Competitive Excellence Acquisition Team of the Year

The Navy’s first TH-73A Thrasher arrived at Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Milton, Fla., Aug. 6, 2021. The TH-73A is assigned to Training Air Wing 5 and will replace the TH-57B/C Sea Ranger as an undergraduate rotary and tiltrotor helicopter trainer for the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.

The Advanced Helicopter Training System Team, part of the Navy Undergraduate Flight Training Systems Program Office (PMA-273), executed its Advanced Helicopter Training System Acquisition Program streamlined to ensure the Navy has the capability to train the largest training pipeline for Chief of Navy Aviation Training at Naval Air Station Whiting Field through 2050. Completing multiple competitive contract awards in just one year and half, the team was named the Navy’s Competitive Excellence Acquisition Team of the Year.

(US Navy photo)

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Maryland – The Advanced Helicopter Training System (AHTS) team, part of the Naval Undergraduate Flight Training Systems (PMA-273) Program Office of the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), has been named the Competitive Excellence Acquisition Team Navy of the Year for its Streamlined Acquisition Program. to achieve the C/Full Rate Production milestone and four contract awards (three competing) in just a year and a half.

“The AHTS team’s ability to execute an aggressive schedule while tailoring policies to our needs has saved us nearly $287 million for the Navy,” said Christina Hall, who accepted the award and served as the team’s assistant program director at the time of the contract. execution. “We are now able to train the largest training pipeline, equivalent to several hundred aviation students per year, for the Chief of Naval Aviation Training at Naval Air Station Whiting Field.”

The three competitive contract awards for the AHTS system of systems included: a full and open competition for the TH-73A Thrasher helicopter; full and open tender for the crew training systems contract; and a fair opportunity competition for contractor logistics services. As part of the full and open competition, the program has challenged industry competitors to earn single-engine instrument flight rules certification from the Federal Aviation Administration for the first time in more than 30 years, opening up competition with single-engine helicopters. This industry in a hurry to come up with a helicopter suitable for naval training that has been fully FAA certified before delivery. The program purchased 130 all-commercial, non-derivative trainer helicopters, awarded under original budget, which met the accelerated procurement schedule and positioned the fleet to successfully meet transition timelines.

The AHTS team is one of six NAVAIR teams to win a Department of the Navy Acquisition Excellence Award this year from among 170 nominations from across the Navy.