Newcomer Stavatti enters T-X competition

After two anticipated bidders for the T-X trainer dropped out of the competition in the last two weeks, newcomer Stavatti Aerospace announced Feb. 2 it would enter its twin-engine, very light Javelin fighter into the competition.

Stavatti joins a shrinking field after would-be competitors Raytheon and Northrop Grumman announced recently they would not respond to the request for proposals, released Dec. 31. Lockheed Martin and a Boeing-Saab team have said they still intend to bid.

In a Feb. 2 press release, Stavatti said it is currently building an industry team and is considering partnering with a larger prime contractor for T-X. The potential bid will build on Aviation Technology Group's Javelin trainer, which Stavatti was granted a license to redesign in November. The new design -- which is currently underway -- will feature "more powerful engines, greater internal fuel capacity, increased maximum external warload, higher maximum takeoff weight, a cockpit designed for the T-X mission that satisfies [joint primary aircraft training system] flight crew accommodation cases 1-8, and a maximum level speed of Mach 1.36," the press release states.

"The result is a very affordable, next-generation supersonic trainer," it continues.

According to the Minnesota-based company's website, Stavatti was founded in 1994 and uses "a lean business model" to develop and produce "significant kinds of aircraft in a manner which results in high quality, high performance products which are not only easily integrated into existing force structures, but are cost effective and inherently efficient."