Mary-Louise Hoffman
An industry team comprising of Boeing and Saab plans to build a customized military training aircraft in pursuit of the Air Force‘s T-X contract, Defense News reported Sunday.
Aaron Mehta writes that Chris Chadwick, president and CEO of Boeing’s defense business, said the alliance is designing a trainer that would look different from the Saab Gripen jet.
“I can unequivocally tell you it’s not Gripen, or son of Gripen,†Chadwick told reporters Sunday at a media briefing held Sunday at Boeing’s London facility.
“Our design process is moving along very smartly and we will be able to fly in a timely fashion to show the Air Force that this is a viable option,†Chadwick added, according to Defense News.
Chadwick explained that Boeing and Saab have shared technology design and development methods with each other through the partnership.
“When you mix those together, what is happening is we’re creating this culture that is allowing us to move faster, design smarter, and hit the price targets that we have that we think will differentiate ourselves from the other three competitors that are in the marketplace,” he told reporters.
The Air Force has set aside $600 million for the five-year trainer program and is slated to award a contract in fiscal year 2017.
