JULY/AUGUST AIRFORCEMAG.COMindustry and government supercharges how we do things.”
Boeing is already adapting some of the approaches from
the T-X to other programs. Manufacturing lessons have
been applied to new-build F-15s and other programs, he
explained.
CHANGING MINDSETS
Boeing had to convince the Air Force that buying a
clean-sheet airplane wouldn’t cause undue delay, and
that began with producing those first “two production
representative jets,” Parker said. “The best form of con-
vincing people is to show them how we do it—not with
a piece of paper.”
Parker noted that starting fresh had some advantages
over offering an established design. The requirement to
accommodate men and women of a wide range of pilot
heights and weights, “would have been a major redesign
for other folks,” he said. “When you come in with a clean
sheet, [and] new design, we just went through that testing,
[and had] already measured it ourselves, before contract
award. That’s one of the advantages of a clean sheet.”
The next step is engineering and manufacturing de-
velopment, where five more airplanes will be built and
tested. They will expand the flight envelope—flutter, loads,
and mission systems testing—with the 412th and 416th
Flight Test Squadrons at Edwards AFB, Calif., beginning
this year with the first two jets. New capabilities added
will include night vision capability, but Parker called such
revisions minor.
Unlike conventional development programs, he added,
“we don’t have to go through the normal milestones,” such
as critical design review. “We’re already done. We don’t
have to go into a traditional program.”
Boeing’s critics have suggested that the company low-
balled the T-X bid—as it did on the KC-46—and may have
to absorb losses for a while before it can make up the
deficit. Boeing has already taken more than $3.5 billion
in losses on the KC-46.
Parker said that move was calculated.
“We made an investment up front. That’s good business
practice,” he said. “That allowed us to compete, and we
won. And we expect that—based on the interest we’re
already seeing internationally—and what we may do in
America, that’s a smart investment.”
With plenty of space, weight, and power for added
capability, he added, “we have a very clear growth path
where we expect to take the aircraft over time.”
He also said the T-X was designed with an open architec-
ture, per Air Force requirements, because “it’s going to be
around a long time.” The T-38, which the T-X will replace,
will have lasted more than 70 years by the time it retires.
The greater lesson the Air Force needs is to “change
its thinking” on how it considers what’s possible. By
being open about its requirements early, the Air Force
provided transparency that allowed for Boeing’s up-front
investment.
“Now we’ve got to execute,” Parker said, but he urged
that other companies follow suit. “Hopefully the Air Force
can get with industry and work together. We need to get
these weapon systems out quicker. The days of perfection
and testing forever, those days are over. There are smarter
ways of doing things.” JThe Air Force plans to
purchase 351 T-X aircraft
to replace the T-38
Talon, which has been in
service for 57 years.
Photo: SECAF Public Aairs