![]() ![]() Information on the value of other competitors' bids was not available. ![]() The Air Force had originally valued the contract at roughly $19.7 billion. On September 27, 2018, the United States Air Force (USAF) awarded The Boeing Company a contract, worth up to $9.2 billion, to procure 351 Advanced Pilot Training (APT T-X) aircraft and 46 Ground-Based Training Systems (GBTS) to replace the existing fleet of T-38C jet trainers. The T-7A acquisition strategy poses potential oversight issues for Congress, including the following: Is the number of planned aircraft purchases sufficient? Given the reported Air Force pilot shortage, should the procurement be accelerated? What effects do increased F-35A and KC-46 purchases, along with development of the new Long Range Strike Bomber, B-21, have on the USAF budget and the feasibility of an additional Major Defense Acquisition Program? Given that the winning bid was roughly half the expected cost, can the contract be carried out on time and on budget? Also, the higher fidelity GBTS could improve training for student pilots and move many tasks from aerial flight training into simulators. ![]() Based on Air Education Training Command’s evaluation of the required capabilities to train future pilots for fifth-generation fighters and bombers, the T-38C falls short in 12 of 18 capabilities, forcing the USAF to train for those capabilities in operational units where flying hours are costly and can affect fleet readiness.īased on the requirements set forth in the USAF’s RFP, the T-7A may shift training from Field Training Units, where expensive fifth-generation aircraft are used, to less expensive trainer aircraft. The FY2020 Administration budget request included $348.473 million for the APT T-X.Īccording to the USAF, the current T-38C trainer fleet is old, costly, and outdated, and lacks the technology to train future pilots for fifth-generation fighter and bomber operations. In this report, “APT T-X” will be used to identify the entire training system, while “T-7A” will refer to the aircraft portion of that system. On September 16, 2019, Acting Secretary of the Air Force Matthew Donovan announced that in service, the T-X aircraft would be known as the T-7A Red Hawk. ![]() Information on the value of other competitors’ bids was not available. Since his departure, it has been maintained by Jeremiah Gertler of CRS. This simulator will help to reduce the training load on Italy’s Predator fleet significantly, freeing those aircraft for increased participation in civil and military operations worldwide,” says Frank Pace, President, GA-ASI.NOTE: This report was originally written by Ceir Coral while he was an Air Force Fellow at the Congressional Research Service. “GA-ASI is pleased to work hand-in-hand with CAE to develop this capable new training tool. “For both manned and unmanned platforms, simulation-based training continues to demonstrate its proven capability as a safe and cost-effective solution for maintaining and enhancing mission readiness,” says Gene Colabatistto, Group President, Defence and Security, CAE. “We need highly-skilled and well-trained Predator crews to fully leverage its capabilities, and our new high-fidelity training system will enable us to use a safe and cost-effective virtual training environment to better prepare our Predator aircrews for operational missions,” says an Italian air force official.Įxpected delivery date to the Amendola air force base is in 2017 and With the UAS Mission Trainer, the Italian air force can conduct training for its Predator A and Predator B/MQ-9 pilots and sensor operators. GA-ASI will manufacture, while CAE will conduct flight-tests gathering data on Predator A and Predator B/MQ-9 aircraft to ensure simulation of flight systems and sensor payloads is the highest fidelity. (GA-ASI) will work together to develop and deliver upgrades to a Predator Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Mission Trainer for the Italian air force.Ĭontracted by the Italian Directorate for Air Armaments and Airworthiness (DAAA), CAE and GA-ASI will develop a high fidelity UAS Mission Trainer that represents the Italian air force’s Predator A and Predator B/MQ-9. CAE announced at the Paris Air show that CAE and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. Italian air force MQ-9/ Photo courtesy of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. ![]()
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