American aerospace giant Boeing has unveiled its first of 351 T-7A Red Hawk advanced trainer aircraft for the US Air Force as part of a $9.2 billion contract.
A rollout ceremony at Lambert International Airport last week marked the initial delivery of the latest generation of trainer jets.
According to the company, the “fully digitally designed aircraft” was built using advanced manufacturing, agile software development, and digital engineering technologies to reduce production to three years.
The aircraft also features open architecture software to enable future upgrades and integration of more advanced systems.
The T-7A will replace the US Air Force’s aging T-38 Talon to teach pilots to fly fourth-and fifth-generation aircraft.
Preparing for Future Missions
The T-7A aircraft was named in honor of Black American fighter pilots nicknamed “Red Tails,” who broke down racial barriers during World War II.
In their honor, Boeing engineers incorporated a red-tailed livery on the trainer.
“With this roll out, we honor our storied history and the heroes who wrote the chapters,” US Air Force Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Richard Clark said. “We usher in an exciting new era of aviation and a new generation of heroes who will write the next chapters.”
Air Education and Training Command official Lt. Gen. Brad Webb said that the T-7A trainer and its accompanying ground systems will help the service prepare military pilots for future missions.
He further stated that getting the aircraft into the hands of students and maintainers is crucial in advancing pilot training to ensure that the highest caliber of pilots is ready for future conflict.
