ST. LOUIS — Boeing is bringing the first tease of its T-X trainer design to next week's Air Force Association conference outside of DC Washington — but only a select few will get to see it.

The company is bringing a T-X demonstrator trailer to the conference, held annually in National Harbor, Maryland. Boeing is teamed partnering with Saab on the design.

It The aerospace company will also be briefing attendees on a new configuration of the F-15, which ups the number of air-to-air weapons on the popular jet to 16.

The T-X trailer will be invite-only, and a Boeing official said there are currently no plans to display the design through models or artwork at the company's booth — meaning the specifications of the plane remain a closely-guarded secret.

One person who ranked a visit? Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, who visited the trailer and was briefed on the program during a visit to Boeing's facilities in St. Louis.

Little is known about the design, despite Boeing having been the first company to announce plans to do a "clean sheet" trainer made specifically for the US Air Force's requirements.

Program officials have specified that the design will not be a modification of Saab's Gripen fighter. Boeing has also hinted to reporters that a first flight of the trainer will happen before the end of the year, but have not confirmed that on the record.

Stu Voboril, Ddirector of Sstrategy & Pprogram Ddevelopment for Boeing's Phantom Works division, told reporters Wednesday that the partnership with Saab was "phenomenal."

The T-X competition, which will replace the service's aging T-38 trainers with 350 new aircraft, has drawn serious interest from industry. In addition to the Boeing-Saab team, Lockheed Martin is teamed with KIA to offer the T-50, Northrop Grumman is offering a clean-sheet design, and the Textron AirLand Scorpion is expected to compete.

General Dynamics was acting as the prime contractor and integrator for the T-100, a modified version of the M-346 trainer sold by Italian firm Alenia Aermacchi, until March when it withdrew from that partnership. Alenia is still searching for a US prime to joint with to stay in the competition.

Boeing will also use the AFA conference to market a new configuration of its F-15 fighter.

The new design features 16 air-to-air weapons, doubling the number currently available on the jet. To accommodate the additional weaponry, the new design alters the location of the fuel tanks.

Marketing a new configuration for the F-15 makes sense, as the line is expected to expire before the end of the decade. More details are expected to be available at the show, held Sept. 14-16.

Secretary Carter also visited the new design, which was on display at the facility.

Email: amehta@defensenews.com

Twitter: @AaronMehta

About Aaron Mehta

Aaron Mehta was deputy editor and senior Pentagon correspondent for Defense News, covering policy, strategy and acquisition at the highest levels of the Defense Department and its international partners.

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