Boeing to build Air Force trainer jets for tomorrow’s combat pilots

The Boeing Co. has secured a hat-trick of Pentagon contract wins after it was awarded a deal worth as much as $9.2 billion to build new trainer jets for the U.S. Air Force. The contract to build an initial 351 T-X jets and supply training services is one of the largest Defense Department programs awarded in recent years, with the work helping sustain engineers and production equipment while the Pentagon considers the next generation of combat aircraft due to come into service in the 2030s. Analysts had favored Boeing in the long-running contest, expecting the aerospace giant to bid aggressively to secure the future of its main military jet plant in St. Louis and position itself for future aircraft competitions, such as the Air Force’s Penetrating Counter Air plan. Boeing has triumphed in two recent contests to provide refueling drones for the U.S. Navy and helicopters for the Air Force, and its defense arm is on track to increase sales for the first time in four years, but the larger T-X program was viewed by analysts as a key test of its competitiveness. Boeing pitched an all-new plane built in partnership with Sweden’s Saab AB.