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I wonder, if the Boeing engineers are already planning or have in their backmind a USN variant to replace the T-45 Goshawk in 15-20 years or so.
TomS said:Harrier said:https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/boeing-wins-92b-t-x-trainer-contract-with-usaf-452263/
IOC 2024
FOC 2034
Ten years to add what? Presumably weapons and software/simulation if the airframe is 'production ready', as claimed.
Ten years to build out the 300+ aircraft and 30+ additional simulators needed after IOC, for starters. That FOC date was baked into the T-X RFP, so it's not based on this specific aircraft but rather on what the Air Force wants to spend on the whole program. This isn't going to be a high-rate production program, because the Air Force wants to keep the budget impact relatively low year-over-year.
Harrier said:TomS said:Harrier said:https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/boeing-wins-92b-t-x-trainer-contract-with-usaf-452263/
IOC 2024
FOC 2034
Ten years to add what? Presumably weapons and software/simulation if the airframe is 'production ready', as claimed.
Ten years to build out the 300+ aircraft and 30+ additional simulators needed after IOC, for starters. That FOC date was baked into the T-X RFP, so it's not based on this specific aircraft but rather on what the Air Force wants to spend on the whole program. This isn't going to be a high-rate production program, because the Air Force wants to keep the budget impact relatively low year-over-year.
I can't believe nothing will be learned or added in that time. Low rates make fiddling more likely unless it is very clear it is all good from the get go. That would be an achievement.
TomS said:Harrier said:TomS said:Harrier said:https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/boeing-wins-92b-t-x-trainer-contract-with-usaf-452263/
IOC 2024
FOC 2034
Ten years to add what? Presumably weapons and software/simulation if the airframe is 'production ready', as claimed.
Ten years to build out the 300+ aircraft and 30+ additional simulators needed after IOC, for starters. That FOC date was baked into the T-X RFP, so it's not based on this specific aircraft but rather on what the Air Force wants to spend on the whole program. This isn't going to be a high-rate production program, because the Air Force wants to keep the budget impact relatively low year-over-year.
I can't believe nothing will be learned or added in that time. Low rates make fiddling more likely unless it is very clear it is all good from the get go. That would be an achievement.
I never said that there would be no changes. I'm sure we'll see several blocks within T-X aircraft manufacturing, and significant evolution in the training infrastructure and curriculum between IOC and FOC.
But I don't think we'll see major changes in aircraft capabilities between IOC and FOC; it will have to perform pretty much the full mission range at IOC. Pilots who start the APT pipeline in the T-X will have to complete the whole curriculum in that aircraft -- no way they will want trainee pilots to fly two advanced jets in the same course.
T-X FOC basically coincides with the T-38C end-of-service date, so achieving FOC is mostly based on having enough T-X aircraft and associated infrastructure in place to take over the full Advanced Pilot Training program.
Archibald said:Why do they use the old F404 and not the Superbug F414 ? Because Grippen ?
Harrier said:Thanks Sundog.
Scaled have never built anything that entered proper series production. The Beech Starship was the closest, and that got re-engineered.
The Model 400 looks like another POC design, which is a general aviation way of building a non certifiable prototype. So likely they would need to re-engineer and build another set of prototypes to meet USAF needs. More time, more money.
Boeing went for production ready out of the box.
Source: http://www.koreatimesus.com/s-korea-loses-u-s-military-trainer-jet-bid/A Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) spokesperson confirmed to Yonhap that Boeing’s bid for the U.S. Air Force’s T-X competition was “unbeatably low.”
The company’s share lost 29.8 percent after the winner of the contract was announced.
TomcatViP said:great!
If I may, flattened nose reduces also trim drag at transonic speeds.
The sortie included a thorough mission brief, flight, and debrief in the T-X trainer, as well as time in the T-X simulator, which will provide student pilots with the skills needed to transition to 4th and 5th generation fighter, bomber, and other future Mach-21 aircraft.
GTX said:Halving just upgraded their Hawks, the RAAF won’t be in the market for another 10yrs.
InterestingThe T-X will largely be an aluminum airplane, Torgerson told Air Force Magazine, and the only composite structure on the jet will be the nose. A metal airplane is easier to manufacture and easier to repair, he said, and the use of lighter-weight materials wasn’t a requirement as “we didn’t have to squeeze every speck of performance” out of the design, given that it’s not intended to be a front-line combat airplane. Even so, the T-X is described as having the ability to pull more than 8Gs.