The U.S. Air Force on Monday announced that its planned request for bids to build the service’s new training jet, called the T-X for now, will be delayed by three months, pushing the expected release of the request for proposals (RFPs) out to late December 2016. That delay will end up adding two years to the time it will take the new plane to reach full operational capability.
The delay is attributed to a new Air Force initiative called “Bending the Cost Curve,” of which the T-X is a pilot program. An Air Force spokesman told Defense News:
These activities have improved and continue to improve the RFP by reducing any potential misinterpretations, which will result in offers better-positioned to meet training requirements. Ensuring the clarity of evaluation criteria and all other sections of the RFP is critical at this stage. Communication is vital in providing insight to industry, enabling efficient and informed decisions as prospective offerors continue to refine their business plans.
Initial operational capability remains on the schedule for 2024, but full capability has been pushed out from 2032 to 2034.
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The Air Force is planning to replace is decades-old T-38 training fleet with 350 new T-X jets that will be used to train pilots to fly the F-35.
There are currently four aerospace industry teams competing for the contract. Raytheon Corp. (NYSE: RTN) and partners Finmeccanica and CAE; Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) and Korea Aerospace Industries; Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) and Saab; and Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE: NOC) along with BAE Systems and L2. A fifth potential bidder, Textron Inc.’s (NYSE: TXT) Airland subsidiary, has decided not to make a proposal.
The bids from the Raytheon-led and Lockheed-led groups are based on existing aircraft, while the Boeing and Northrop bids are clean-sheet designs.
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