Less than 300 miles will now separate Boeing from its T-7A teammate Saab with the opening of Saab's new 100,000-ft² production facility in West Lafayette, Indiana.
The Boeing-Saab team is producing the new advanced trainer for the U.S. Air Force, with Saab providing the aft section to Boeing's forward fuselage. Currently the aft section is built at Saab's factory in Linköping, Sweden, then shipped to the United States. Since the inception of the T-7A, Boeing and Saab have continued to seek and evolve new program efficiencies.
The T-7A Red Hawk went from concept to first flight in just 36 months using advanced model-based engineering and digital design techniques. The digital thread, the connection of digital information through product design, manufacturing, and inspection, used throughout the program has accounted for a 75% improvement in engineering quality.In September 2018, the U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing a US$9.2 billion contract to supply 351 advanced trainer aircraft and 46 associated ground based training simulators.
