Saab has shipped its first aft airframe section for a T-7A Red HAWK. This is a key delivery in the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) programme to its T-7A RED HAWK advanced trainer aircraft partner, Boeing.
The production and shipment of this aft airframe section is the latest milestone in Saab’s contribution to the design and development of the T-7A Red HAWK trainer for the US Air Force. The 15 April 2021 shipment came from Saab’s Linköping site in Sweden to Boeing in St. Louis, Missouri. On completion of the EMD production phase, Saab’s brand new facility in West Lafayette, Indiana, will undertake Saab’s production of the aft sections for the T-7A programme.
Upon arrival in St Louis, the Saab aft section will be spliced to the forward fuselage, prior to installation of the wings, fins and tail assembly to become a complete static test airframe. This airframe will be used for structural testing on the ground during the EMD phase of the programme.
The T-7A RED HAWK is an all-new advanced pilot training system designed for the US Air Force to train the next generation of combat pilots for decades to come. The aircraft has benefited from Saab and Boeing’s “breaking the norm” approach to military aircraft design, engineering and production, which saw the preceding T-X aircraft go from concept to first flight in just 36 months.
Jack Richardson
