The U.S. Air Force will delay issuing a request for proposals (RFP) for the T-X jet trainer replacement program by three months “to ensure the release of a well-defined RFP.” The service said it now expects to release the RFP in late December.
In a March 18 notice, the Air Force Materiel Command program executive office for mobility said its decision to refine the solicitation stems from the service’s “Bending the Cost Curve” acquisition reform initiative. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James announced the initiative in January 2015, describing it as an approach to driving down costs and increasing competition by engaging industry throughout the acquisition life cycle. The initiative is aimed at T-X and three other programs: the long-range standoff weapon, Multi-Adaptive Podded System and Space-based Infrared System.
Efforts to refine the RFP language of the T-X program, which have included extensive dialogue with industry, “have taken longer than initially anticipated to complete,” the service stated in its latest notice. The process has caused it to postpone the full operational capability date of the new trainer from Fiscal Year 2032 to FY2034; however, the planned initial operational capability date of FY2024 remains unchanged.
The T-X requirement calls for 350 training jets to replace the current Northrop T-38 Talon the Air Education and Training Command uses for undergraduate pilot training. Four industry teams have announced plans to compete for the requirement: Raytheon and Finmeccanica, with the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master; Lockheed Martin and Korea Aerospace Industries with the T-50A; Northrop Grumman, with a clean-sheet design; and Boeing and Saab, also with a clean-sheet design.
Meanwhile, upgrade and sustainment work continues on the twin-engine Northrop T-38, which entered service in 1961. In January, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center awarded Boeing a 10-year, $855 million contract for T-38C avionics component integration and logistics support until January 2026.
The T-38C incorporates a glass cockpit with an integrated avionics suite, a head-up display and an electronic “no drop bomb” scoring system, according to the Air Force. Under the latest contract, Boeing will work on displays, control panels and communications systems for 456 trainers. Boeing performed the original T-38C avionics upgrade under the Air Force’s “Pacer Classic” program, which in its third iteration seeks to extend the life of the T-38 to 2029.
