combat aircraft

WINNING

DESIGN

The Boeing/Saab aircraft is a twin-

tail design with a large cockpit

that features ‘stadium seating’,

plus leading-edge root extensions

(LERX) similar to that found on the

F/A-18 Hornet. Boeing’s T-X has

a single General Electric F404-

GE-402 engine and Boeing said

the aircraft’s ‘ighter-like design’

and performance with the twin-tail

coniguration will ‘provide excellent

control, inherent speed break

functionality, and safer air-refueling’.

Darryl Davis, president of Boeing’s

Phantom Works, said the aircraft

was designed to meet all program

requirements, and noted that it will

ofer high-angle of attack (AoA) and

high-g performance. ‘We can hit

every one of the requirements.’

The company also stressed that

the cockpit design ofers ideal

instructor positioning and visibility,

both for light instruction and for

advanced visual air combat training.

It has a modern, ighter-like cockpit

with a reconigurable large-area

display (LAD) that mimics those

found in the F-22 and F-35.

but production aircraft’. Leanne Caret

assured dissenters that the aircraft was

‘real, ready, and the right choice for

training pilots for generations to come’.

Referred to internally as the BTX-1,

Boeing carried out the irst light on

December 20, 2016, at its St Louis,

Missouri, facility. The company rapidly

lew all the required test points to satisfy

the USAF T-X team.

Although it was aggressive on cost, the

USAF was unwavering in its demand for

high performance. The turn performance

threshold was set at 6.5g but with an

This image:

Boeing executed

an efficient

flight-test plan

to prove the

attributes

of its T-X

aircraft and

satisfy USAF

requirements.

Left: Test

pilot Steve

‘Bull’ Schmidt

Schmidt says,

‘I consider it

the complete

package for

an advanced

jet trainer.

It has the

maneuverability,

the agility that

you’re looking

for when you’re

trying to train

somebody to fly

future combat

aircraft.’

INDUSTRY REPORT // T-X

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