Red Hawk: Air Force, Boeing Working Through Trainer Setbacks.

• Author: Tadjdeh, Yasmin

The pressure is on for Boeing and the Air Force to deliver on their T-7A Red Hawk trainer as the aircraft has hit developmental snags and COVID-related production delays that have pushed its schedule to the right.

The program--which encompasses aircraft, simulators and other advanced training capabilities--is meant to teach pilots to fly fourth- and fifth-generation fighter jets and bombers. The effort also includes maintenance simulators with physical devices and instructional techniques, including classroom, online and virtual training.

The Red Hawk is intended to replace the Air Force's aging T-38C systems.

The service awarded Boeing--along with partner Saab--a $9.2 billion contract in 2018 to procure 351 advanced pilot training aircraft and 46 ground-based training systems.

The Red Hawk--which features a single General Electric F404-GE-402 engine and can reach supersonic speeds--is also the service's flagship "e-Series" aircraft, a designation given to systems designed, built and tested using digital engineering techniques. Service officials hope the process will allow companies to catch problems faster and develop systems more affordably.

The T-7A completed its critical design review in August 2020, which marked the end of the design phase and the beginning of the build and test segment of the program, according to the Department of the Air Force's Acquisition biennial report for 2019 and 2020.

However, the effort faced a series of setbacks earlier this year following the discovery of a developmental issue as well as COVID-19 related supply chain problems, according to officials and company executives.

These issues have caused the program's schedule to slip, pushing back a Milestone C decision from 2022 to 2023. It has also required modifications to the Air Force's projected budget for the program.

In President Joe Biden's fiscal year 2022 budget request, the Air Force asked for $188.9 million in research, development, test and evaluation funding and $10.4 million in procurement funding for the T-7A. However, that is $17.5 million less in RDT&E funding than the service had projected for fiscal 2022 in the most recent future years defense program.

"The decrease in funding, particularly on the T-7A, was based on Milestone C and some technical issues... [that] had to slide a bit to the right," said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown Jr.

"Our focus and commitment to the T-7 has not waned," he said during a June hearing before the House Armed Services Committee. "We're just making sure that the money aligns with where the program is."

Speaking in September...