In mid-September of 2016, The Boeing Company - in partnership with Sweden's Saab - revealed their challenger for the lucrative United State Air Force "T-X" advanced jet trainer competition. The design was rolled out on September 13th at the Boeing St. Louis (Missouri) facility. It is a "clean sheet" design meaning that it has been engineered from the ground up and not based on an existing, proven aircraft already in service.
Initial Operating Capability (IOC) for the T-X is planned for 2023.
The basic approach is a conventionally-arranged aircraft sporting a high-mounted wing mainplane, twin vertical tail fins and a single engine installation. The engine, the General Electric GE F404 series turbofan, is aspirated by a split-air intake duct system. The crew of two are seated in tandem under a lightly-framed canopy - it is assumed the student in front with the instructor aft. The cockpit sits aft of a slender, pointed nosecone and the overall design exudes aerodynamic efficiency. The undercarriage is of a typical tricycle arrangement (of course retractable) with the main legs (single-wheeled) sitting under center mass of the aircraft and the nose leg (also single-wheeled) found under the cockpit floor. Some components of the aircraft are said to have been 3D-printed to help lower costs. Saab is said to be responsible for the middle and aft sections of the new aircraft.
Boeing/Saab promise high maneuverability and a high Angle-of-Attack (AoA) from their design. Logistical friendliness is also noted for the F404 engine in the Boeing-Saab T-X is the same already in the U.S. military pipeline as it powers the Boeing F/A-18 "Hornet" family.
Some 350 advanced trainers are sought by the service to replace the aging line of Northrop Grumman T-38 Talons. Northrop Grumman is also a challenger in the T-X competition along with Lockheed. Northrop revealed their T-X entry in August 2016 - the prototype also powered by the F404 engine. Boeing recently lost out to build the next-generation bomber for the USAF (this went to Northrop) so nabbing the T-X contract is something of a must. Its St. Louis production facility will also see a slowdown in work with the planned wrap-up of fighter production related to the F-15 and F/A-18 lines.
Two production-quality aircraft are ready for evaluation.
Values presented on this page for the Boeing-Saab T-X are estimated on the part of the author. They will be revised when official specifications of the aircraft are revealed by the manufacturer.
December 2017 - The Boeing T-X prototype completed its first-flight on December 20th, 2016.
April 2017 - The second T-X prototype completed its first-flight, this lasting one hour. The flight took place on April 24th.
September 2018 - The United States Air Force has awarded Boeing a $9 billion USD contract to make its T-X proposal the next advanced trainer of the service.
December 2018 - The T-X is a contender for a 33-strong advanced jet trainer requirement of the Royal Australian Air Force.
February 2019 - It was announced by Saab that a production location for building the new T-X trainers in the United States will be selected by the middle of 2019.
May 2019 - Saab has announced plans to set up an all-new manufacturing facility in West Lafayette, Indiana for its contribution to the Boeing-led T-X advanced jet trainer program. Construction is expected to begin sometime in 2020.
July 2019 - It was announced that Boeing had begun flight-testing of one of its two T-X prototypes.
September 2019 - On September 16th, 2019, the USAF formally revealed the official designation of the T-X Advanced Jet Trainer, T-7A "Red Hawk". The name is to honor the U.S. Army Air Corps' Tuskegee Airmen of World War 2 who flew, among other platforms, the famous Curtiss P-40 "Warhawk" fighter. The service is expected to procure 351 airframes along with 46 simulators to succeed an aging fleet of Northrop T-38C Talon jet trainers.
January 2020 - Saab has begun production of the T-7A Red Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer. These will begin manufacture in Linkoping, Sweden and end with final assembly at the Boeing St. Louis facility.
June 2020 - The United States Air Force announced that it has successfully completed its system-level design / ground-based training review of the T-7A advanced jet trainer aircraft.
July 2020 - The T-7 is being assessed by Boeing for the light strike role - replacing such aging types as the Northrop F-5 Tiger II and Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jet lightweight fighter / trainer lines.
July 2020 - Australia has emerged as a possible first-export customer of the in-development T-7A Red Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer. The Royal Australian Air Force seeks to replace an aging fleet of British BAe Hawk aircraft in same role.
September 2020 - The United States Air Force has adopted a new weapon system designator prefix for those airframes designed and tested digitally. This has resulted in the new eT-7A designation for the T-7A Red Hawk AJT.
December 2020 - The first T-7A Red Hawk simulators are under construction by Boeing.
February 2021 - Saab looks to move T-7A production work to Boeing's West Lafayette facility.
April 2022 - The first (of 351 planned) production-quality T-7A airframe rolled off Boeing assembly lines. The rollout ceremony was held on April 28th, 2022 by the USAF.
Power & Performance Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Boeing-Saab eT-7A 5th Generation Advanced Jet Trainer Aircraft.
1 x General Electric F404 afterburning turbofan engine developing 11,000lb dry thrust and 17,200lb of thrust with reheat. Propulsion
808 mph 1,300 kph | 702 kts Max Speed
50,000 ft 15,240 m | 9 miles Service Ceiling
1,143 miles 1,840 km | 994 nm Operational Range
33,500 ft/min 10,211 m/min Rate-of-Climb
Structure The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Boeing-Saab eT-7A 5th Generation Advanced Jet Trainer Aircraft.
2 (MANNED) Crew
46.4 ft 14.15 m O/A Length
32.8 ft (10.00 m) O/A Width
13.1 ft (4.00 m) O/A Height
7,165 lb (3,250 kg) Empty Weight
12,125 lb (5,500 kg) MTOW
Variants Notable series variants as part of the Boeing-Saab T-7 Red Hawk (eT-7A) family line.
T-7 "Red Hawk" - Base Series Designation.
eT-7A - Initial production variant under new USAF weapon system designator (Sept 2020).
T-X - Developmental program designation.
BTX-1 - Prototype designation covering two flyable airframes.
Operators Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Boeing-Saab T-7 Red Hawk (eT-7A). Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.
Total Production: 3 Units Contractor(s): Boeing Company - USA / Saab - Sweden
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