The US Air Force (USAF) has slated September 2021 for the maiden flight of the first of five engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) Boeing-Saab T-7A Red Hawk advanced jet trainer aircraft, Janes has learned.
With two production representative jets currently flying, the first of five EMD aircraft is set to make its maiden flight in September 2021. (Boeing)
With production of the EMD aircraft set to shortly begin at Boeingâs St Louis facility in Missouri and Saabâs Linköping facility in Sweden, a USAF official told Janes on 18 August that the hitherto undisclosed date for the first EMD flight has now been set.
âSaab has released all EMD aircraft âbuild-to-packagesâ to support build and manufacturing preparation. The EMD [aft] fuselages (five in total) are currently planned for build at Saabâs factory in Sweden with delivery [to St Louis] no later than April 2021. Production is expected to begin with jig load [this] August at Boeing in St Louis. Boeing currently plans for assembly to be complete in June 2021, with the first EMD flight expected in September 2021,â the USAF said.
Prior to this disclosure, both Boeing and Saab had declined to comment on the timetable for the first EMD flight, noting only that âthis is very sensitive information for the USAFâ.
With two production-representative jets (PRJs) currently flying, the present EMD phase of the contract covers the five further aircraft and seven simulators.
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