Boeing Teases First Look at Air Force Training Jet Concept
On Tuesday, Boeing let Defense News have an exclusive look at the company’s concept for the new T-X training jet for the U.S. Air Force.
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
At the Air Force Association (AFA) conference near Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) let Defense News have an exclusive look at the company’s concept for the new T-X training jet for the U.S. Air Force. The new trainer will replace the 50-year old T-38 currently used to train bomber and fighter pilots, and may even be adapted to replace the T-1 that is used to train airlift and tanker pilots.
Boeing has teamed up with Saab to prepare a bid for the program that the two companies have said will be a clean-sheet design and not a rework of Saab’s Gripen fighter plane. The illustration at the end of this article shows a top down view of the plane’s nose section with the two-person cockpit and, below it, a photo of the Gripen warplane.
Defense News noted in its report:
It’s a bit of a tease, but that lines up with how Boeing had handled press for AFA. The company has brought a trailer for the program, but has restricted access to VIPs — primarily service officials — and until now has resisted discussing or sharing any design details.
Other expected bidders on the Air Force trainer contract are a clean-sheet design from Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE: NOC) and perhaps another clean-sheet design from Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) in conjunction with KAI, makers of the T-50 jet trainer. General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) has withdrawn from a partnership with Italy’s Finmeccanica subsidiary Alenia Aermacchi to modify the company’s M-346 trainer.
ALSO READ: US Air Force Looks to Replace JSTARS Fleet
T-X Concept from Boeing/Saab
Saab Gripen Fighter Plane
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.
