Yesterday, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) announced that the start of production for the new T-7A Red Hawk training aircraft will be postponed until 2026, following an agreement with manufacturer Boeing for an extension to adjust the company’s production processes and develop a more consolidated curriculum for future pilots trained in the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The aircraft in question is intended to replace the old T-38C Talon models currently in service, which have a service history spanning over six decades.
Citing statements from Andrew Hunter, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, to explain the decision: “Acquisition programs cannot stagnate, even when they have a fixed price. That’s why I have directed the T-7A team to implement updates to reduce risk and increase our confidence in the aircraft design, all to ensure that we can deliver the T-7A to the warfighter when needed (…) These acquisition updates include expanding testing capacity, allowing for the start of AETC curriculum development activities, and using a management approach that incentivizes Boeing to address emerging issues that were not part of the contract signed in 2018 and to accelerate elements of the program.”
It is worth recalling that the design of the T-7A Red Hawk was selected by the USAF in 2018 as its future jet trainer, competing with Leonardo’s candidate, which presented its T-100 aircraft (derived from the M-346), and the partnership between Lockheed Martin and KAI with their T-50 Golden Eagle. Initially, the acquisition of a fleet of 350 operational aircraft was planned, with Initial Operational Capability (IOC) expected between 2023 and 2024; today, this milestone would only be achieved by 2027.
On the other hand, it should be mentioned that the U.S. Air Force currently operates five T-7A Red Hawk test aircraft to become familiar with the aircraft’s capabilities, with the arrival of another four production-representative test vehicles (PRTVs) planned for fiscal year 2025. This is significant given that the USAF had intended to move forward with the purchase of the first production batch of the aircraft during this period, now pushed to 2026; earlier, negative signals had been observed for the program in this regard, as the budget for purchasing 14 aircraft had been reduced to only 7.
Reviewing briefly the problems that affected the program and consequently led to its delay, there were issues with the supply chain, quality control work, and the aircraft’s ejection seats; the latter problem was apparently resolved after tests carried out last year verified their proper functioning. Additionally, it should be noted that the design had problems with roll instability at high angles of attack, which was subsequently resolved through software updates.
Despite these issues, the USAF has stated that further delays are not expected regarding achieving IOC in 2027. According to Hunter, this is due to the possibility of using the PRTV models to continue refining details before the production units arrive. In this regard, the secretary stated: “The acquisition of these PRTVs in fiscal year 2025 also allows the Air Force and Boeing to improve manufacturing readiness before entering the full-rate production phase of more than 350 T-7As (…) Reducing the overlap between development, testing, and production decreases the likelihood of costly modifications to a significant number of aircraft.”
Images used for illustrative purposes.
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