The U.S. Air Force accepted the first of five T-7A Red Hawk aircraft from the Boeing Co. on September 14th. The five (5) Engineering, Manufacturing, and Development (EMD) aircraft will quickly begin testing and join the two “contractor owned” production representative jets that have completed over 500 flights testing performance and flying qualities. Additionally, Test Readiness Review and flight test planning have been completed.Following acceptance, EMD flight test is planned to start at the end of summer 2023 first in St. Louis then at Edwards Air Force Base. ?
“The Red Hawk Integrated Test Team is ready and looking forward to begin EMD Test and Evaluation” said Dr. Troy C. Hoeger, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Chief Developmental Tester for the T-7A.
“I continue to be amazed by this team. There has been a lot of effort over the last couple months to get through first flight and now aircraft acceptance. We are excited to get these EMD aircraft into flight test,” said Col. Kirt Cassell, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s T-7 Program Manager.
The Boeing–Saab T-7 Red Hawk, initially known as the Boeing T-X (later Boeing–Saab T-X), is an American/Swedish supersonic advanced jet trainer produced by Boeing with Saab. The T-7’s design allows for future missions to be added, such as the aggressor and light attack/fighter roles.[34] In the training environment, it has been specifically designed for high-G and high angle-of-attack maneuvers and night operations, with an emphasis on being easily maintained. The aircraft is equipped with a single GE F404 turbofan engine, but produces three times the total thrust as the twinjet Northrop T-38 Talon.
The T-7A program contract was awarded in September of 2018 to Boeing Defense, Space and Security and programmed to deliver an integrated system of 351 aircraft, 46 Ground Based Training Systems, and associated support equipment. The T-7A Red Hawk is a new advanced training system that is being developed to replace the T-38 Talon. The Red Hawk leverages a glass cockpit, stadium seating and embedded training to meet U.S. Air Force needs to train the next generation of fighter and bomber pilots. The aircraft, combined with advanced ground-based simulators, will be a giant leap in pilot training as the Air Force strives to maintain its tactical advantage over evolving threats.
