Boeing-Saab victory in T-X competition would bring work to St. Louis production line

[Ethan]

WASHINGTON — In an expected decision, Boeing and Saab announced on Monday plans to assemble their offering for the Air Force’s T-X training program in St. Louis, the location of Boeing’s F-15 and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet production lines.

But while the announcement clears up where the aircraft is to undergo final assembly and check out, questions still remain about the work share between Boeing and Saab. A spokeswoman for Boeing confirmed that Saab is in charge of development and production of the aft fuselage, but that a "fair amount" of production work would be done by Boeing and its suppliers.

St. Louis’ involvement in the program was hardly a surprise given Boeing’s decision to build the first two Boeing-Saab T-X aircraft at that location. Winning the T-X contract would provide Boeing with a major production opportunity that would likely stretch into the 2030s, giving the St. Louis site a needed shot in the arm as it looks to the eventual end of production of the F-15 and Super Hornet.

It would also support about 1,800 jobs, both directly and indirectly, Boeing stated in a news release.

“Our highly skilled St. Louis workforce designed, assembled and brought Boeing T-X to life, and they continue to define the future, not just for our company, but for our customers and the global aerospace industry,” said Shelley Lavender, senior executive and president of Boeing’s military aircraft division.

Questions about where the Boeing-Saab T-X production would be produced came to the forefront when photos of cargo — allegedly sections of the first T-X prototype in transit from Sweden to the United States — appeared on Twitter.

Boeing is the last of the major T-X competitors to have announced where it will
produce its T-X offering. Lockheed Martin and Korean Aerospace Industries’ T-50A would be undergo final assembly in Lockheed’s facilities in Greenville, S.C., if the companies win the contract. Meanwhile, Leonardo and its U.S. subsidiary DRS recently chose Tuskegee, Ala., as its final assembly and checkout site.

Sierra Nevada and Turkish Aerospace Industries have not publicly confirmed whether it bid for the T-X program — although industry sources told Defense News that the company did propose its Freedom Trainer — nor has it divulged where the jet would be manufactured.

Boeing and Saab rolled out the first T-X last September in a high-energy ceremony in St. Louis, where the dropcloth reveal of the first aircraft was accompanied by dubstep music and flashing strobe lights. Boeing officials then took reporters to another building for a surprise: a look at a second aircraft that was undergoing construction. Boeing has since flown both T-X aircraft with T1 on December 20 and T2 on April 24.
The Air Force plans to buy 350 T-X aircraft throughout the program of record and is set to award a contract this year.

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