A T-7A Red Hawk, assigned to the 416th Flight Test Squadron, taxis at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma, 7 November 2023. Credit: DVIDS.

The US Air Force (USAF) and Boeing have agreed to adjust aspects of the T-7A Red Hawk training aircraft acquisition agreement.

“These acquisition updates include expanding test capacity,” explained Andrew Hunter, assistant secretary of the USAF for acquisition, technology and logistics, in a 15 January 2025 release.

In 2018, the service awarded a fixed-price contract to Boeing for T-7A aircraft development and 10 fixed-price lots of all 350 T-7A trainer aircraft. The Red Hawk is due to replace the ageing T-38 Talon, now more than 60-years old.

US defence prime, Northrup Grumman, has built more than 1,000 T-38 aircraft, with over 500 remaining in service according to GlobalData intelligence. The Talon is increasingly expensive to maintain and not reflective of a modern fighter.

At present, American pilots are currently flying five T-7A test aircraft, with the last unit being delivered in December 2024.

Boeing provides Red Hawk test variants

The lead contractor first won the contract to build Red Hawks, or as they were first known, ‘T-X’ aircraft. Boeing went on to start production of the jets in February 2021.

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However, the company will take a step back to meet the enduring sustainability and safety needs of the user, Air Education and Training Command (AETC), the oldest major command in the USAF.

Safety issues germinated from early on in the deal. In May 2023, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report stating the service did not, at the time, allow pilots to fly its five test aircraft due to problems with the escape system and other components.

In addition, with limited oversight of production prior to ordering the aircraft, the GAO found that the USAF did not have a plan for determining under what conditions it would accept production work completed prior to contract delivery.

Adjusted roadmap

Boeing will now build and deliver four Production Representative Test Vehicles (PRTVs) in order “to reduce risk and increase our confidence in the aircraft design,” Hunter stated.

These test variants will be purchased with fiscal year (FY) 2025 funds and delivered in FY 2026.

This expanded test capacity would enable the AETC to expedite test plan and curriculum development earlier than the current plan, ultimately achieving a timely Initial Operational Capability (IoC).

While the adjusted plan would result in the award of Lot 1 production aircraft in calendar year 2026, the production delivery timeline of the PRTVs and the Lot 1 aircraft would preserve AETC’s 2027 IoC timeline.

The USAF is working with Congress on what adjustments would be necessary to the FY 2025 T-7A budget request to execute the adjusted plan.