T-X Trainer Competition Will Be A Clash Of The Aerospace Titans

As 2016 draws to a close, the eyes of the defense segment of the U.S. and international aerospace industry is looking ahead to the next year's competition for the U.S. Air Force T-X Trainer ... the airplane that will be the successor to the T-38 Talon.

Most of the major players in the industry are looking to place an aircraft in the mix, and with good reason. The Dayton Daily News reports that Richard Aboulafia, a senior aviation analyst with the Virginia-based Teal Group, thinks this will be the last military airframe selection in this decade, and winning the competition could mean billions for the successful contractor.

Major U.S. defense contractors have largely teamed up with international partners for the project. Boeing is working with Saab on a clean-sheet design trainer that flew for the first time  earlier this month; Northrop Grumman is working with BAE Systems and L-3 on a new aircraft design; Lockheed Martin has teamed with Korean Aerospace Industries to offer the T-50A; and a Raytheon/Leonardo-Finmeccanica team will offer the T-100 as the new trainer.

There are also reports that Sierra Nevada Corp. may offer an airplane in conjunction with Turkish Aerospace Industries.

The T-38 first flew in 1959, and it has undergone several upgrades over the years. The last of the Air Force's 1,100 T-38s was delivered in 1972. There are about 430 still flying, according to the report.

The T-X trainer program is designed to train pilots to fly today's 4th and 5th generation fighters. But it will compete for funding for some other high-ticket items, like the KC-46 tanker, the F-35, and the new B-21 Raider stealth bomber.

(Images from file)

FMI: www.af.mil