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Budget · Army aviation

Textron warns MV-75 production award could slip, Breaking Defense reports

A continuing resolution could delay the Army award and lift Textron’s estimated funding-delay costs to $110 million to $150 million, Breaking Defense reports.

A continuing resolution could delay the Army’s first low-rate initial production (LRIP) contract for the MV-75 Cheyenne II, Textron executives told investors Oct. 29, Breaking Defense reported. Chief Financial Officer David Rosenberg said Textron had expected the award in the fourth quarter into the first quarter of next year.1

Textron’s MV-75 delay-cost estimate could rise, Breaking Defense reports

Estimated cost of MV-75 funding delays; reported Oct. 29, 2026

$60 million to $110 millionPrevious-quarter estimate
$110 million to $150 millionIf the award slips further

The higher estimate depends on a further delay in the first low-rate initial production award.

Reported by Breaking Defense, Oct. 29, 2026. As of Oct. 30, 2026.

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A delay could add to the financial hit Bell Textron already expects. Last quarter, the company estimated that funding delays would cost $60 million to $110 million. A further delay in the production award could raise that estimate to $110 million to $150 million, Rosenberg said.1

The Army exhausted nearly all its available fiscal 2026 MV-75 funding in July, according to Textron’s quarterly filing as described by Breaking Defense. The company continued work while reducing spending to manage the shortfall.1

Congress approved the Army’s reprogramming request during the third quarter, Textron Chief Executive Officer Lisa Atherton told investors, Breaking Defense reported. About $300 million of the approved transfer was committed through contract changes to cover costs Bell and its suppliers had already incurred.1

Sources (1)
  1. Breaking Defense: Army’s MV-75 production award could slip due to CR, raising program costs: Textron (Oct. 29, 2026) breakingdefense.com
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Industry

Textron raises outlook with MV-75 funding now approved

Textron says its higher forecasts reflect MV-75 funding approval and associated contract modifications. Its July outlook already assumed the funding; Bell’s quarterly program volume fell.

Textron raised its 2026 adjusted earnings and manufacturing cash flow forecasts Oct. 29.1

Textron says its updated outlook reflects the Army's receipt of Congressional approval

MV-75 Cheyenne program

Textron's full-year 2026 outlook, as stated in its July 28, 2026 second-quarter release, assumed receipt of additional fiscal year 2026 funding on the MV-75 Cheyenne program through an Above Threshold Reprogramming (ATR) request

Textron says its updated outlook reflects the Army's receipt of Congressional approval for the MV-75 ATR request and the associated contract modifications obligating the funding

Source: Textron Q2 and Q3 2026 results, SEC Form 8-K exhibits, July 28 and October 29, 2026.

Sources
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The company said the outlook reflects congressional approval of the Army’s Above Threshold Reprogramming request for the MV-75 Cheyenne program, plus associated contract modifications obligating the funding. The approval and contract modifications address a funding risk Textron identified in July.1–2

Its July outlook had already assumed receipt of that additional fiscal year 2026 funding. The company had warned that absent additional funding, and including other outlook assumptions, adjusted earnings per share could be reduced by $0.20 to $0.30. Under those assumptions, it said cash flow could also be negatively affected by $150 million to $250 million.2

Textron now expects full-year adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations of $6.55 to $6.65. Its forecast for manufacturing cash flow before pension contributions, a non-GAAP measure, rose to $800 million to $900 million.1

Bell’s third-quarter revenue fell 9% from a year earlier. Textron attributed the decline primarily to a $59 million decrease in military revenue, largely because of lower MV-75 volume. Bell’s segment profit fell to $76 million, primarily because of lower volume and mix, the company said.1

Sources (2)
  1. Textron Q3 2026 results, Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K, Oct. 29, 2026 www.sec.gov
  2. Textron Q2 2026 results, Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K, July 28, 2026 www.sec.gov
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Industry · Naval aviation training

SNC exits Navy T-45 replacement competition, Breaking Defense reports

Breaking Defense reports SNC declined to bid under the Navy’s contract structure, leaving Textron’s M-346N as the service’s “one true competitor.”

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has left the Navy’s Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) competition to replace the T-45 Goshawk, Breaking Defense reported Nov. 3. SNC told the outlet it could not responsibly bid under the current contract structure.1

SNC is no longer competing for the Navy's new training jet

Undergraduate Jet Training System

SNC could not responsibly bid the UJTS [Undergraduate Jet Training System] program under the current contract structure

Textron Aviation Defense, the only known major competitor to SNC, confirmed to Breaking Defense that the firm submitted its offering of the M-346N to the Navy.

Stavatti Aerospace said on Oct. 30 it submitted a bid on UJTS

Reported by Breaking Defense

Sources
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Breaking Defense says SNC’s exit leaves the Navy with “one true competitor”: Textron Aviation Defense, which confirmed to the outlet that it submitted the M-346N. The outlet also reported that Stavatti Aerospace said on Oct. 30 that it submitted a bid.1

SNC said it remains committed to naval jet training and would be ready to re-engage if the approach is revisited. Breaking Defense’s account does not identify the contract terms SNC objected to.1

The competitive field had already narrowed: Lockheed Martin announced in April it would not submit the TF-50N with Korea Aerospace Industries, and Boeing announced its departure in June. In September, Breaking Defense reported that Northrop Grumman was dropping off SNC’s bid, which centered on a clean-sheet design called the Freedom.1

The Navy kept its Oct. 30 proposal deadline, extended from June 30, the program office told the outlet. It now estimates an award between July and the end of September 2027, later than the June 2027 target in its September request for proposals. The service originally planned a March 2027 selection.1

Breaking Defense says the M-346N appears to be the de facto winner, barring a reopened competition or surprise entrant. The program office told the outlet that source selection is underway.1

Sources (1)
  1. Breaking Defense: EXCLUSIVE: SNC pulls out of Navy’s trainer jet competition breakingdefense.com
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