B
OEING’S BTX 1 WAS
named as the winner
of the US Air Force’s T-X
advanced pilot training
aircraft competition
on September 27.
Developed jointly with Saab, the
‘clean-sheet’ design was selected
over competing proposals
submitted by Lockheed Martin with
the T-50A in partnership with Korean
Aerospace Industries (KAI), andLeonardo DRS, which o ered the
T-100, based on the M-346 Master.
The air force plans to acquire
351 aircraft and 46 simulators,
but could buy as many as 475
jets. Although T-X will replace the
USAF’s eet of T-38C advanced
trainers in the advanced training
role, additional purchases could
follow if the platform is selected
to replace Talons used as ‘Red Air’
aggressor aircraft.In anticipation of the formal request
for proposals, which was issued in
December 2016, Boeing and Saab
built and ew two T-X prototypes
to prove all of the required key
performance points. The two
contractors had agreed to jointly
develop the aircraft in December- The rst BTX-1 prototype ew
in December 2016 and the second
aircraft followed in April 2017.
The program could be worth as
much as $9.2 billion. Under the
initial $813-million engineering
manufacturing and development
(EMD) phase, Boeing will deliver ve
T-X aircraft and seven ight training
devices to Joint Base San Antonio-
Randolph, Texas. Plans include two
low-rate initial production lots, and at
least eight full-rate production lots.
The aircraft is powered by a single
General Electric F404 turbofan and
features dual, canted tails. The new
trainer is expected to achieve initial
operational capability by the end of
Fiscal Year 2024 with full operational
capability following in 2034.
According to the Boeing-Saab team,
more than 90 per cent of the aircraft
will be produced in the US and nal
assembly will occur at the Boeing
facility in St Louis, Missouri. The USAF
originally estimated the cost of the
program to be around $19.7 billion
for 351 aircraft, showing just how
aggressive Boeing was on pricing
despite o ering a brand-new aircraft.NORTHROP GRUMMAN OPENS TRAINING CENTER
NORTHROP GRUMMAN RECENTLY
opened its new AC-208 training
center of excellence at Meacham
Airport in Fort Worth, Texas. The
5,000 square foot (4,645 square
meter) facility is designed to provide
partner nations with instructional
classroom activities and initial
aircrew and maintenance training
on the Cessna AC-208 Eliminator,
which is modi ed by Northrop
Grumman. The Armed Caravan
was developed by Orbital ATK,
which was purchased by Northrop
Grumman in June 2018. Initialtraining courses o ered at the center
will last approximately four months
and include pilot and mission
system operator training. The
AC-208 Eliminator is equipped with
an electro-optical, laser-equipped
targeting system, air-to-ground and
air-to-air communications to a ord
both day and night reconnaissance
and strike capabilities. It provides
the capability to locate x, identify,
track, target, and engage emerging
and time-sensitive targets using
laser guided 2.75in (70mm) rockets
or AGM-114 Hell re missiles.OSPREY FIELDING AND GREYHOUND
SUNSET PLANS REVISED
THE US NAVY has accelerated its
sunset plans for the charismatic
C-2A Greyhound carrier on-board
delivery (COD) aircraft and the
transition of the mission to the
CMV-22B variant of the Osprey
tilt-rotor. Because of the minimal
number of modi cations being
made to the Osprey for the COD
mission, the service believes it will
undergo a shorter-than-planned
test program. Under the revised
plan the nal retirement date for theC-2A has been moved from 2027
to 2024. The rst of 39 CMV-22Bs
for the navy were ordered in June
and are already in production.
The aircraft will undergo modi ed
developmental and operational
testing that will primarily evaluate
the extended-range fuel system,
high-frequency beyond-line of
sight radio, and the public address
system. The CMV-22B will achieve
initial operational capability and
three aircraft will deploy in 2021.The C-2A Greyhound will bow out of the
carrier on-board delivery (COD) role by- US Navy/MCS2C Thomas Gooley
US NAVY HERCULES ‘GET WELL’ PLANS
THE US NAVY expects to have all
of its 25 C-130T Hercules back in
the air during Fiscal 2019, which
began on October 1. Modi cations
to install new NP2000 propellers
will be completed by Fiscal 2020.
The eet was grounded in August
2017 following the crash of a US
Marine Corps KC-130T in July- The C-130T eet will receive
avionics upgrades that will allow
them to comply with Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA)
and International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO) standards. It is
also planning to replace its C-130Ts
with C-130Js and three examples will
be purchased in Fiscal 2023.
BOEING WINS T-X
‘CLEAN-SHEET’ TRAINER WILL REPLACE T-
SECOND SKYGUARDIAN FLIES
GENERAL ATOMICS
AERONAUTICAL Systems
completed the rst ight of the
second MQ-9B SkyGuardian
remotely piloted aircraft (RPA)
on September 26. The ight was
carried out at Laguna Army Air eld
on the US Army’s Yuma Proving
Grounds in Arizona.
The company-owned prototype
will allow the contractor to advance
development testing and the
demonstration of several systems
that were not available on the rst
prototype, which ew in 2016.
Those systems include lightning
protection, an upgraded avionics
and software suite, and a de-icing
system. Ultimately the MQ-9B will
be the rst RPA certi ed to y in civil
airspace. Referred to as YBC02, it willsupport ight envelope expansion,
testing of the certi ed redundant
control module, ight controller
updates, and the certi able ground
control station (C-GCS). The rst
SkyGuardian prototype has already
completed more than 75 ights
and own 400 ight test hours. The
aircraft set an endurance record
for Predator-series aircraft when
it ew for more than 48 hours.
Additionally, it demonstrated an
automatic take-o and landing
capability using SATCOM only and
in July it completed a 3,760nm
(6,964km) ight from Grand Forks,
North Dakota to RAF Fairford, UK.
The MQ-9B is being procured by
the Royal Air Force as part of its
Protector RG1 unmanned combat
air vehicle program.UNITED STATES [NEWS]
http://www.combataircraft.net // December 2018 09