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LONDON—Boeing is touting its collaboration with BAE Systems and Saab to offer the T-7A for the United Kingdom as evidence of its commitment to local production in Europe, as there has been an ongoing trend of international militaries looking beyond the U.S. for their needs.
BAE announced in November it would perform final assembly and development work in the United Kingdom for the T-7A as a potential replacement for the BAE Hawk T2. The company has said it is preparing for its response to the contest, touting the T-7A as the best solution for the Royal Air Force's anticipated needs.
Speaking on July 19 ahead of the Farnborough Airshow, Boeing Defense, Space and Security CEO Steve Parker told reporters that since it is ahead of a competition, he could not elaborate on how much specific work would be conducted inside the UK.
Boeing’s recent track record for competitions in Europe has been spotty. NATO selected Saab’s GlobalEye over the company’s E-7A Wedgetail and Italy reversed a plan to procure KC-46 tankers, opting instead for the Airbus Multi-Role Tanker Transport. These decisions have come amid uncertainty around the current Trump Administration’s commitment to supporting European nations.
“I would say that we’ve been listening a little bit differently the past couple years as there has been this pivot and shift in Europe,” Parker said.
There will be some new information on the BAE collaboration this week at Farnborough, though Parker did not elaborate.
“They will prime that opportunity for us and this is all about British jobs,” Parker continued. “So that’s a great example where we’re thinking a little bit differently, innovative. We know BAE Systems very well. We worked the Harrier, we worked the Hawk in the past. … BAE Systems have a lot of content, we know the leadership, it is a natural fit.
“There’s one example. We’re going to bring what I believe is the world’s most advanced training system to the UK, and we’ll compete there very differently with a UK focus and a final assembly and checkout line here.”
Additionally, Parker pointed to the MQ-28 collaboration with Rheinmetall in Germany and the Saab collaboration on the Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb as further examples of commitments to European production.
For the T-7, Parker said the company is ramping up production despite the U.S. decision to push full-rate production to 2029. This includes 30 aircraft in different stages of assembly from all its suppliers.
“So we’re going to be producing at quite a rate coming up,” he said.
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