An unlikely collaboration forged with rival fighter manufacturer Boeing in December 2013 could see Saab secure a valuable slice of the future advanced jet trainer market.
Many were surprised when the designers of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and Gripen revealed a pact to produce a clean-sheet design in pursuit of the US Air Force’s pending T-X programme to replace a fleet of ageing Northrop T-38 Talons. This is expected to require the acquisition of around 350 aircraft, with a further opportunity to also provide a new-generation type to equip the service’s aggressor squadrons.
Export sales are also being anticipated, while Sweden needs a successor for its air force’s current active fleet of around 50 Saab 105-model jet trainers.
“The Boeing co-operation is an excellent opportunity for a broad partnership,” says Saab deputy chief executive Lennart Sindahl. “We can see it coming into new areas where we can combine existing products and technologies that can rather quickly get to the market.”
Boeing’s desire to collaborate with Saab is due in no small part to the Swedish company’s success with developing, producing and selling the Gripen, with an emphasis on comparatively low acquisition and operating costs. “We can do very cost-efficient products, yet deliver a high level of capability,” Sindahl notes.
“The work with Boeing has been extremely smooth in an extremely short time. We have been very successful in creating a joint culture,” he adds.
With the USAF yet to issue a full request for proposals for the T-X deal, the partners are maintaining silence about their design, but Sindahl says they are now moving towards producing a test aircraft.
“We will now focus to bring forward a very interesting product. The concept we have is extremely innovative.”
The Boeing/Saab team will face competition from several rivals for T-X, including Alenia North America with a T-100 version of the Alenia Aermacchi M-346, and Lockheed Martin, which is offering the T-50 developed for Seoul in partnership with Korea Aerospace Industries. Northrop Grumman, meanwhile, will later this year fly an all-new design prepared by its Scaled Composites subsidiary.
“We think there is a good chance,” says Saab head of aeronautics, Ulf Nilsson. “We see that we have a really strong solution, and good opportunities for development.”
Source: Flight International
