According to Boeing, the production representative jets (PRJs) flew 11 engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) test flights of T-7A Red Hawk out of its St Louis production facility in Missouri. Boeing started inverted flight testing of T-7A RedHawk.
Developed in partnership with Saab, the Red Hawk was selected under the T-X Advanced Pilot Training Program (ATP) to replace the US Air Force’s (USAF’s) Northrop T-38 Talon that has been in service since the 1960s.
The announcement of the ramp-up of EMD flight trials came a month after Boeing and the USAF concluded the critical design review (CDR) for the ground-based elements of the jet trainer. The T-7A Ground Based Training Systems (GBTS) CDR was a five-day conclusion to 18 months of development work on the systems, and its completion paves the way for manufacturing to begin on the ground-based elements of the USAF’s aircrew training system.
With the first of 351 aircraft set to be delivered to Randolph Air Force Base (AFB), Texas, in 2023, initial operational capability (IOC) is scheduled for 2024.
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