Boeing's T-7 isn't just a training aircraft, it's a training system--and a revolutionary one at that.
Share to twitterWhen the U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing the contract for its next-generation training system in 2018, many observers were amazed at the low price. The service had estimated that it would cost nearly $20 billion to develop and produce 351 aircraft plus simulators and ground training aids, but Boeing agreed to do it for less than half that amount.
Air Force acquisition and technology chief Dr. Will Roper attributed the low cost to fierce competition, which certainly played a part in getting offerors to sharpen their pencils. But if you look inside the T-7 program, it is apparent that something more is going on here. Boeing and teammate Saab aren’t just developing a training system, they are fashioning what amounts to a prototype for the digital engineering revolution that Roper has made a top Air Force priority.
I know all this because Boeing contributes to my think tank and earlier this week, at my request, gave me a briefing on the program. T-7, recently designated the Red Hawk, breaks the mold on how aircraft are developed, produced, integrated into a family of systems, and affordably sustained. Thanks in part to its readily reconfigurable “glass” cockpit, T-7 is by far the most flexible, versatile training system that any military service has ever fielded.
That’s a good thing because it will play a central role in training the next generation of pilots who fly “fifth generation” fighters and bombers—combat aircraft with unprecedented survivability and situational awareness. It may also eventually be used to train pilots of aerial-refueling tankers and transports, and naval pilots flying off aircraft carriers.
The low cost and functional flexibility of the T-7 system underscore how military innovations might help U.S. commercial aerospace enterprises stay competitive in the global market. Just as commercial insights have informed how Boeing developed the T-7, so new ideas applied in the training system will have potential relevance for companies developing civil aircraft. This is part of what Dr.
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