Finmeccanica and Raytheon, a US giant active in the defense sector, have established a partnership in the tender for the supply of new generation trainers to the US Air Force (USAF).
The agreement was announced through a joint press conference held in the American capital in which the world's fourth largest group in the defense sector announced that it will play the role of prime contractor alongside Finmeccanica in the tender for the Trainer-X program ( TX), which provides for the construction of 350 new trainer aircraft and whose value is estimated at several billion dollars, making it one of the Pentagon's largest investments in recent years.
Raytheon will replace General Dynamics, the US multinational that has decided to withdraw from the tender. CAE Usa and Honeywell are also joining the consortium with Finmeccanica and Raytheon. Competitors will present their offers in the autumn of 2016. The USAF will award the maxi contract in 2017 for the construction of 350 TXs that will replace the fleet of obsolete Northrop Grumman T-38s, which have been in circulation for half a century. The development phase will take place between 2018 and 2022. The new aircraft will be operational from 2024, with deliveries expected by 2030.
