Northrop Grumman Withdraws From Sierra Nevada’s Navy Trainer Partnership

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Northrop Grumman has withdrawn from its partnership with Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) on the latter’s bid for the Navy’s next-generation Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS), Breaking Defense has learned.

Northrop initially joined SNC’s Team Freedom offering for the UJTS program in February 2026. When asked about the status of the agreement, both Northrop and SNC confirmed that it was no longer active.

“As part of our disciplined portfolio management and ongoing commitment to prioritizing the warfighter, we have elected to focus our resources on opportunities where our mature capabilities and investments can deliver the greatest mission impact,” Northrop said in a company statement. “We remain committed to naval aviation and delivering the capabilities the US military depends on with speed and urgency.”

SNC, however, is continuing to move forward with the Freedom offering. “SNC remains focused on offering the very best training system available for the Naval Aviation Mission,” a company spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for General Atomics–Aeronautical confirmed that the company would also remain part of Team Freedom.

Freedom faces competition from Textron Aviation Defense, which is offering the Beechcraft M-346N in partnership with Leonardo. Lockheed Martin announced in April that it would not submit its TF-50N, developed with Korea Aerospace Industries, for the program, and Boeing confirmed in June that it too was exiting the competition.

It remains unclear when the Navy will make its decision. In September, the Navy pushed the timeline back to June 30, 2027.

Northrop, meanwhile, is awaiting a decision on another key Navy program: F/A-XX, the service’s sixth-generation fighter competition. The Navy is expected to select a winner between Northrop and Boeing in the near future, though that timeline has been subject to repeated delays.

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