- Boeing (NYSE:BA) and Saab (OTCPK:SAABF) today unveiled their entry into the U.S. Air Force's $11B competition for a new jet to train fighter and bomber pilots, with the company’s St. Louis hub operations on the line.
- The Boeing-Saab bid faces a fight with Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) and Raytheon (NYSE:RTN) for the contract to produce 351 jets through the T-X advanced trainer program, and the winning entry will replace the aging T-38 fleet on which U.S. military pilots have honed their flying skills since 1961.
- The Air Force is not expected to release its final criteria until December, picking a winner next year who would begin production in fiscal 2018, and the new trainer is not spected to begin preparing a new generation of pilots for combat for another eight years.