Boeing first out of blocks with T-X proposal
Gareth Jennings, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
30 March 2017
Developed with Saab, Boeing's BTX appears to incorporate elements from both the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and the Gripen combat aircraft. Source: Boeing
Boeing has become the first competitor to submit to the US Air Force (USAF) its proposal for the service's fighter trainer replacement programme (T-X), the company announced on 30 March.
In a tweet stating it was 'turning up the heat!", Boeing said it had submitted its proposal for the USAF's Advanced Pilot Training (APT) Family of Systems (FoS) programme, as T-X is officially known, early. No further details were disclosed.
Developed with Saab, the clean-sheet Boeing offering for T-X is a twin-seat single-engined platform that features a 'glass' cockpit modelled to resemble that of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, and an open systems architecture. It appears to incorporate elements from both the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and the Saab Gripen combat aircraft. Dubbed BTX, the aircraft's first flight was conducted out of Boeing's St Louis facility in Missouri on 20 December 2016.
With Boeing's submission now with the USAF, pitches from the other competitors are expected in the coming days. Besides Boeing and Saab, the T-X requirement is being competed by Lockheed Martin and Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) with the T-50A (a derivative of the T-50 Golden Eagle), and by Leonardo DRS with the T-100 (a derivative of the M-346 Master).
A team comprising Sierra Nevada Corporation and Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) is also reported to be developing a clean-sheet design, while US company Stavatti says it will offer its Javelin clean-sheet design.
Textron has discounted its Scorpion jet, which was previously rumoured to be a possible contender, while on 1 February the Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems team announced that it would not compete for the requirement, despite having been photographed testing its Model 400 clean-sheet design in August last year.
