combat aircraft

B

OEING IS ON a roll. It has

secured the US Navy’s

MQ-25 Stingray unmanned

tanker requirement, and its

MH-139 — ofered jointly

with Leonardo Helicopters

— has won the US Air Force competition

to replace the service’s ageing leet of

UH-1H ‘Huey’ utility helicopters. But

biggest of all, its all-new, clean-sheet,

training aircraft has been chosen as the

replacement for the T-38 Talon.

The USAF announced Boeing’s

new trainer as the winner of the T-X

contract on September 27. ‘Today’s

announcement is the culmination of

years of unwavering focus by the Boeing

and Saab team,’ said Leanne Caret,

president and CEO of Boeing Defense,

Space and Security. ‘It is a direct result

of our joint investment in developing

a system centered on the unique

requirements of the USAF.’

Boeing’s approach was ambitious

from the outset. While Leonardo and

Lockheed Martin chose existing designs,

as far back as 2012 Boeing was already

saying that a clean-sheet efort was

the only way to win T-X, by meeting

the exact needs of the USAF. It also

had to be super-aggressive on price.

From the start Boeing intended to

massively undercut the opposition on

procurement and support costs.

Boeing and its risk-sharing partner

Saab designed, developed, and light-

tested the two purpose-built jets, all

the time aware that it would need to

absorb the $1.5-billiion research and

development bill. T-X was a competition

that Boeing couldn’t aford to lose,

no matter what the costs were. The

company judged that investing in a

new design would result in an optimum

solution: providing what the air force

wanted, at an afordable price.

Partnering with Saab was key to

bringing the cost down, making use of

the Swedish irm’s expertise in smart

production techniques. ‘This selection

allows our two companies to deliver

on a commitment we jointly

made nearly ive years ago,’

said Håkan Buskhe, president

and CEO of Saab. ‘It is a

major accomplishment

for our partnership with Boeing and

our joint team, and I look forward to

delivering the irst trainer aircraft to the

air force.’

Responding to T-X

The USAF launched its T-X trainer

competition on December 30, 2016,

when it released its formal request

for proposals (RFP) for the Advanced

Pilot Training (APT) requirement to

replace the T-38 in the specialized

undergraduate pilot training

(SUPT) phases.

A broad list of draft requirements

for T-X had already been set out in the

key performance parameters (KPP)

document, released by the USAF in

October 2012. This extensive document

allowed industry to prepare oferings at

an early stage. The USAF then published

Boeing went

all-out on T-X,

hitting both price

and performance

goals to win the

deal. All photos

Boeing

40 December 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net