In a historic achievement for the Saab and United States Air Force (USAF) T-7A advanced jet trainer program, the first flight of a T-7A built during the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase took place on June 28 2023 in St. Louis, USA. The 63-minute flight, piloted by USAF test pilot Maj. Bryce Turner from the 416th Flight Test Squadron and Boeing T-7 chief test pilot Steve Schmidt, marked a significant milestone for the collaborative effort between Saab and Boeing.
Saab’s contribution to the T-7A program includes the development and production of the fully installed aft section for the aircraft. The seven afts produced at Saab’s facility in Linköping, Sweden, are part of the EMD test aircraft. Saab has also established a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in West Lafayette, Indiana, which will be responsible for producing the series aircraft for pilot training by the U.S. Air Force.