T-X programma ... the new trainer ... or next light multi-roll fighter ?

[Ace1]

[Harald]

Leonardo DRS T-100 is already training F-35 pilots

The Leonardo DRS T-100 is an advanced variant of the M-346 trainer, a globally proven training jet for air forces around the world.  Today, the aircraft is actively training pilots to fly the F-35 for the Netherlands, Israel and Italy.  Additionally, the M-346 is training side-by-side with the F-35 in Italy.

In open government procurement bids, the T-100 has been awarded four of five international programs against the current T-X competition.  It has been selected by Poland, Singapore, U.A.E. and Israel   It has logged more than 18,500 training sorties with more than 30 aircraft for the Israeli Air Force.

Complete with a superior live, virtual constructive (LVC) training system, the T-100 has the most advanced, customer-proven, fully integrated training program in use today.  The ground-based training system connects with a state-of-the-art aircraft cockpit-embedded processor that is able to simultaneously link a number of aircraft and ground-based simulators for smooth, multi-pilot training.  This LVC system is specifically called for the in the Air Force R.F.P., and the M-346 training system has long used this to train pilots around the world. The seamless training environment requires less time and effort to qualify for combat readiness.

The T-100 Integrated Training System is a proven, low-cost, low risk, fifth-generation pilot training solution for the U.S. Air Force T-X program, and it is ready now.  It will be built in the United States in a new manufacturing facility in Tuskegee, Alabama.

http://defence-blog.com/news/leonardo-drs-t-100-is-already-training-f-35-pilots.html

M-346 is training side-by-side with the F-35 in Italy

[Harald]

Second Boeing T-X Aircraft Takes Flight

ST. LOUIS, April 24, 2017 – Boeing [NYSE: BA] and partner Saab [Stockholm: SAABB] have completed the first flight of their second production-ready T-X aircraft, which is identical to the first and designed specifically for the U.S. Air Force advanced pilot training requirement.

During the one-hour flight, lead T-X Test Pilot Steve Schmidt and Boeing Test Pilot for Air Force Programs Matt Giese validated key aspects of the aircraft and further demonstrated the low-risk and performance of the design, proving its repeatability in manufacturing.

"The jet handled exactly like the first aircraft and the simulator, meeting all expectations," said Giese. "The front and back cockpits work together seamlessly and the handling is superior. It's the perfect aircraft for training future generations of combat pilots."

Both pilots trained for the flight using the complete Boeing T-X system, which includes ground-based training and simulation.

"Our successful flight test program is a testament to the fact that our offering is the right choice for the U.S. Air Force," said Schmidt. "This aircraft was built to Air Force requirements and designed to fulfill the Air Education and Training Command mission."

The Boeing T-X aircraft has one engine, twin tails, stadium seating, and an advanced cockpit with embedded training. The all-new, purpose-built design offers flexibility to evolve as technology, missions, and training needs change.

Boeing and Saab revealed their design in September 2016 and flew the first aircraft last December.

T-X will replace the Air Force's aging T-38 aircraft. Initial operating capability is planned for 2024.

http://boeing.mediaroom.com/2017-04-24-Second-Boeing-T-X-Aircraft-Takes-Flight#assets_117

mooi film over de Boeing T-X :
http://www.boeing.com/defense/t-x#/video-player/boeing-t-x-the-right-choice-for-the-u-s-air-force

[Harald]

Boeing first out of blocks with T-X proposal

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.

http://www.janes.com/article/69148/boeing-first-out-of-blocks-with-t-x-proposal

[Harald]

Leonardo to built T-X offer in Alabama

Leonardo on Thursday announced plans to build a new aircraft manufacturing facility in Alabama to produce its T-100 integrated jet training system if it comes out winning the T-X competition. The company selected Moton Field Municipal Airport in Tuskegee for the new aircraft manufacturing site and final assembly line 'because of the available local workforce and resources, plus the exisiting airfield infrastructure.

Leonardo earlier this year selected its US-based affiliate Leonardo DRS at the prime contractor for the T-X bid. Production of Leonardo's T-100 jet trainer will have to take place in the US in order to have a chance at winning the valuable T-X contract. Under this contract, the Pentagon is to buy over 300 new jet trainers for the US Air Force, which will replace many dozens of old T-38 Talon trainers.

The T-100 is based on the M-346 Master, a jet Airheadsfly.com got to know from the inside last year.  The M-346's twin Honeywell F124 turbofan engines will also power the T-100 and will be built in Phoenix, Arizona.

The T-100 features an embedded training system, fifth-generation cockpit, open system architecture and in-flight refuelling capability and is designed to receive mission-focused next-generation enhancements to meet the requirements set by the U.S. Air Force.

Competitors have until 31 March to actual hand in their proposals. Boeing reported it has already delivered its proposal, while Leonardo now appears to have done the same. No doubt Lockheed Martin will follow with their offer.

http://airheadsfly.com/2017/03/30/leonardo-to-built-t-x-offer-in-alabama/

[Harald]

Boeing/SAAB T-X trainer - Afterburner Takeoff, On a Roll 

[Harald]

Textron AirLand to forgo T-X bid with Scorpion jet

Textron Airland has officially decided against offering its Scorpion jet for the Air Force's T-X trainer competition, ending speculation about whether the aircraft would emerge as a dark horse candidate.

"We certainly believe the Scorpion can fit a good training role, not only for the U.S. Air Force but around the world, but with the requirements that had been put out there for the T-X, we don't believe the Scorpion fits all the requirements," said Bill Harris, the company's vice president of Scorpion jet sales.

Textron told Defense News in early 2016 that it would probably not pursue the T-X contract unless the Air Force changed its requirements to be less demanding. However, earlier this winter, company officials stated that they had not ruled out a T-X bid and were assessing the final request for proposals.

Harris explained Textron wanted to take a second look at the requirements to evaluate whether Scorpion could fit the service's needs, but the jet had trouble meeting some of the Air Force's more aggressive performance characteristics, including a high G threshold of 6.5 — the Scorpion can achieve 6 Gs.

"It basically was very close to what you would see in an F-16 Block 50 aircraft," he said. "We went over it and over it, and it became clear that we weren't going to meet these aggressive performance standards."

That leaves five teams still in the ring to fight over the $16 billion contract:
- Boeing and Saab's clean-sheet design,
- Lockheed Martin and Korea Aerospace Industries modified T-50,
- Leonardo DRS's T-100,
- Sierra Nevada Corp and Turkish Aerospace Industries' newly designed Freedom Trainer,
- Stavatti Aerospace's Javelin concept.

.../...

http://www.defensenews.com/articles/textron-airland-to-forgo-t-x-bid-for-scorpion-jet

[Harald]

The T-X battle comes down to Lockheed and Boeing

WASHINGTON — With U.S. President Donald Trump's attention fixed on the F-35 and Air Force One, the Air Force's biggest ongoing aircraft competition so far has gone untouched. But even without Trump's intervention, the T-X race has evolved into something not unlike an episode of a reality TV show, featuring industry teams breaking up, companies unexpectedly dropping out and upstart entries coming in at the last minute.

The T-X program began with four main competitors: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman — which developed a new prototype — and a Raytheon-Leonardo team offering the latter firm's M-346. Over the past couple of months, Northrop has pulled out of the competition, Raytheon dissolved its partnership with Leonardo — leaving the Italian firm to ally with its US wing, DRS Technologies — and several smaller companies, including Sierra Nevada and the nigh-unknown Stavatti Aerospace, decided to throw their designs into the ring. 

Analysts tell Defense News that the drama overshadows the most important point: The competition has become a face-off between Boeing's clean-sheet T-X design and the Lockheed Martin-Korean Aerospace Industries' T-50A, the US derivative of a trainer flown by the South Korean, Iraqi, Philippine and Indonesian militaries.

.../...

http://www.defensenews.com/articles/the-t-x-battle-comes-down-to-lockheed-and-boeing

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

Leonardo goes it alone in T-X bid

Zonde van de inspanning en het geld... kansloos!

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

Leonardo goes it alone in T-X bid

http://www.defensenews.com/articles/leonardo-goes-it-alone-on-tx-bid

[DvdW]

Wauw, plaatjes....

[Jooop]

[Jooop]

Allemaal erg mooie kisten, vooral de Javelin ziet er fast and furious uit

[Harald]

Stavatti Aerospace unveils new Javelin military jet trainer for USAF T-X Competition  (... nieuwe deelnemer ?? ...)




Stavatti Aerospace is entering the Javelin into the USAF Advanced Pilot Training Program (T-X) competition.

The Stavatti Javelin is a new twin-engine, two-seat, high performance military jet trainer and Very Light Fighter (VLF) aircraft. Derived from the ATG Javelin Mk-30, the Javelin will be a candidate for the USAF T-X trainer requirement, as well as a trainer and VLF that can be sold to allied air forces worldwide.

The Javelin project began in 1998 with the formation of Aviation Technology Group (ATG) in Englewood, Colorado. Intended as a two-seat civil jet sportplane, the original ATG-1 Javelin mockup was unveiled and displayed at the NBAA convention in 2002. With orders for 151 aircraft by 2003, in 2004 ATG announced a partnership with Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) to develop and produce a family of two seat military jet trainers designated the Javelin Mk-20 and Mk-30. The prototype Javelin had its maiden flight on 30 September 2005. In December 2007 ATG ceased business operations after failing to raise additional development capital, ultimately declaring bankruptcy in 2008.

On 14 November 2016 Stavatti Aerospace Ltd was granted an Exclusive License to re-imagine, develop, prototype, certify, manufacture, sell, and support the Javelin as an Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) and VLF from the present owner of the Javelin project's intellectual property and physical assets.

Upon execution of the licensing agreement, Stavatti immediately began redesigning the Mk-30 Javelin configuration to directly address the current USAF T-X RFP requirements as issued on 31 December 2016. The Stavatti Javelin maintains many exterior characteristics of the original Javelin design but benefits from structural improvements to increase maximum load factor to 9-Gs, more powerful engines, greater internal fuel capacity, increased maximum external warload, higher maximum takeoff weight, a cockpit designed for the T-X mission that satisfies JPATs flight crew accommodation cases 1-8, and a maximum level speed of Mach 1.36. The result is a very affordable, next generation supersonic trainer.

Stavatti is now building the Javelin Industry Team and may partner with a larger prime contractor to expand the Javelin program's ability to provide comprehensive manufacturing, training, and contractor logistical support to satisfy T-X requirements.

Stavatti will be releasing technical information regarding the reimagined Javelin beginning March 1st followed by a formal response to the USAF T-X RFP on March 30th.

http://defence-blog.com/news/stavatti-aerospace-unveils-new-javelin-military-jet-trainer-for-usaf-t-x-competition.html

[Harald]

Shifts and Changes in Line-Up of T-X Contenders

The U.S. Air Force's T-X advanced trainer program is one of the biggest prizes in the military aircraft market in the near future. This is due to the scale of the program itself: under the program, the Air Force intends to buy 350 advanced jet trainers to replace its fleet of Northrop T-38Cs. In addition, the winning T-X aircraft will be in a position to become perhaps the leading competitor in the future global market for advanced jet trainers.

While the T-X program has drawn considerable interest from aircraft manufacturers, the line-up of contenders has changed in recent weeks. Leonardo had been teamed with Raytheon to bid the T-100, a version of the former's M-346 advanced trainer, but the U.S. company withdrew from the competition in January 2017.

In the wake of the departure, Leonardo is evaluating its options, including whether to proceed with the bid on its own or perhaps find another U.S. partner. The twin-engine T-100 is powered by Honeywell F124 turbofan engines.

Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems had teamed to jointly propose a clean-sheet design known as the Model 400. However, the two companies have now opted not to pursue the T-X contract.

Meanwhile, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) is partnered with Lockheed Martin to propose the T-50A, a variant of KAI's T-50 trainer. Lockheed Martin assisted in development of the original T-50. Two T-50A development aircraft are currently in flight testing; the first took to the air in June 2016 and the second joined the flight test effort the following month. These two aircraft were produced by KAI in South Korea.

However, if the T-50A is chosen for the T-X contract, final assembly of aircraft for the program would occur at Lockheed Martin's facility in Greenville, South Carolina. Major components, such as the wings and fuselage, would continue to be produced in South Korea. General Electric supplies its F404-GE-102 turbofan engine for the single-engine T-50A.

Boeing and Saab are jointly proposing an all-new, clean-sheet design for the T-X program. The two companies have already built two examples of the new aircraft, unveiling them in September 2016. The first of these aircraft made its initial flight in December 2016. Designed expressly for the USAF program, the Boeing/Saab aircraft features twin tails, a shoulder-mounted wing, and a single F404-GE-102 engine. Boeing is building development aircraft in St. Louis; the company intends to build production aircraft at a yet-to-be-determined location in the U.S. Some portions of the aircraft are manufactured in Sweden by Saab.

A clean-sheet design is also being proposed by Colorado-based Freedom Aircraft Ventures LLC, a joint venture of Sierra Nevada Corp (SNC) and Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI). Dubbed the Freedom Trainer, the twin-tail, swept-wing aircraft is powered by a pair of Williams FJ44-4M turbofan engines.

Contract award for the T-X program may occur in the second half of 2017 or early 2018. Initial Operational Capability is slated for FY24, with Full Operational Capability in FY34. These plans are heavily dependent on funding availability and prioritization, and delays are certainly possible.

The market potential of the selected T-X aircraft extends beyond the Air Force's 350-unit advanced trainer buy. The USAF imprimatur will make the T-X winner a very strong contender for sales on the worldwide advanced jet trainer market.

In addition, the T-X design could be adapted for use as a light attack aircraft, thus opening up that market to the winning aircraft as well. Indeed, a light attack version of the aircraft could be a contender for a possible USAF acquisition to partially replace the A-10 in the close air support role.

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articles-view/release/3/180820/shifts-and-changes-in-line_up-of-t_x-contenders.html