Photo: USAF
It's been a while since we first learned of the U.S. Air Force (USAF) planning to replace its aging fleet of T-38 Talon trainer planes, but here we are, finally, at the closing stages of the process.
The Northrop T-38 Talon has been in operation since 1959, training America's pilots the ins and outs of operating fighter jets. With close to 1,200 of them made, it is the most produced trainer in the world, and it also holds the title of the first supersonic aircraft to be made for training purposes.
Those are titles that probably no other plane will steal from the Talon anytime soon, but that doesn't mean the plane hasn't grown obsolete with each passing decade. So back in 2018 the USAF decided a replacement was in order, and it awarded aerospace giant Boeing the contract for making that replacement.
The name of America's new jet trainer is T-7A Red Hawk, of which a total of 351 are expected to be delivered over the coming years. That won't happen, however, until both the aircraft maker and its operators are absolutely sure it works as advertised and that it's what the USAF needs.
To date just two Red Hawks have been in operation, prototypes owned by Boeing and flown by both the company's pilots and those of the Air Force for testing purposes. In mid-September, however, the USAF received the first example in a series of its own planes, designated as Engineering, Manufacturing and Development aircraft.
The plane will begin a series of flight tests in the coming weeks, taking place in the skies over Saint Louis and later those over the Edwards Air Force base in California. If all goes according to plan, fleet deployment will likely begin by the middle of the decade.
The Red Hawk is made by Boeing together with Saab. It is powered by a General Electric turbofan engine capable of delivering 17,000 lbf of thrust with the afterburner hot. The plane can reach a top speed of over 800 mph (1,300 kph, just a little over Mach 1) and an altitude of 50,000 feet (15,000 meters).
It will be used to train not only fighter pilots, but also the ones who will fly America's bombers. With that in mind, but also as a means to ensure the Red Hawk remains relevant for many years to come, it has been built with an open architecture software, to allow for the addition of new capabilities in the future.
The USAF will pay Boeing $9.2 billion for the planes, but the aviation mammoth will not make them for the USAF alone. Over 2,000 other Red Hawk planes are targeted for production for America's allies, including Australia, which is looking for a replacement for its fleet of BAE Hawks.
Those are titles that probably no other plane will steal from the Talon anytime soon, but that doesn't mean the plane hasn't grown obsolete with each passing decade. So back in 2018 the USAF decided a replacement was in order, and it awarded aerospace giant Boeing the contract for making that replacement.
The name of America's new jet trainer is T-7A Red Hawk, of which a total of 351 are expected to be delivered over the coming years. That won't happen, however, until both the aircraft maker and its operators are absolutely sure it works as advertised and that it's what the USAF needs.
To date just two Red Hawks have been in operation, prototypes owned by Boeing and flown by both the company's pilots and those of the Air Force for testing purposes. In mid-September, however, the USAF received the first example in a series of its own planes, designated as Engineering, Manufacturing and Development aircraft.
The plane will begin a series of flight tests in the coming weeks, taking place in the skies over Saint Louis and later those over the Edwards Air Force base in California. If all goes according to plan, fleet deployment will likely begin by the middle of the decade.
The Red Hawk is made by Boeing together with Saab. It is powered by a General Electric turbofan engine capable of delivering 17,000 lbf of thrust with the afterburner hot. The plane can reach a top speed of over 800 mph (1,300 kph, just a little over Mach 1) and an altitude of 50,000 feet (15,000 meters).
It will be used to train not only fighter pilots, but also the ones who will fly America's bombers. With that in mind, but also as a means to ensure the Red Hawk remains relevant for many years to come, it has been built with an open architecture software, to allow for the addition of new capabilities in the future.
The USAF will pay Boeing $9.2 billion for the planes, but the aviation mammoth will not make them for the USAF alone. Over 2,000 other Red Hawk planes are targeted for production for America's allies, including Australia, which is looking for a replacement for its fleet of BAE Hawks.
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