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On December 5, 2025, the United States Air Force received its first T-7A Red Hawk, which was originally assigned to the Air Education and Training Command. The jet landed at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph before being integrated into the 12th Flying Training Wing’s 99th Flying Training Squadron. The aircraft will soon become a critical piece of the Air Force’s combat training systems. The arrival of this aircraft marks the first step of the operational plan to continue developing the Advanced Pilot Training System’s capabilities.
The aircraft is meant to replace the aging T-38C Talon and better prepare pilots for fifth- and sixth-generation aircraft. Digitally designed and paired with simulators and live-virtual constructive training, the Red Hawk aims to modernize the Air Force’s production of fighter and bomber aviators for years to come.
The Beginning Of An Era
The Air Education and Training Command began its Red Hawk era with the December 5 touchdown at Randolph, flown in by Boeing test pilot Steve Schmidt alongside 99th FTS leadership. The Air Force plans a formal arrival ceremony for the aircraft at a later date. Branch leaders say that the T-7A is the first tangible proof of program momentum and a necessary replacement for the life-extended, early-1960s-era T-38C, for which sustainment costs only continue to climb, according to analysis from the United States Air Force.
The aircraft will integrate with ground-based training, maintenance trainers, and live virtual constructive scenarios, so students learn information management and sensor-driven decision-making. The AETC’s plan targets initial operational capability in August 2027, with 14 jets assigned to the 99th FTS. The aircraft offers open-architecture avionics, and fly-by-wire controls also let instructors tailor individual performance.
From Test Jets To Actual Training
The Red Hawk itself is not just a new aircraft but rather a whole ecosystem. The T-7A is paired with high-fidelity simulators and course materials so that students can rehearse complex missions before they ever even burn fuel. This allows them to blend live flights with virtual threats and constructive forces inside the scenario.
This matters for fifth-generation training, where pilots will have to manage sensor fusion, data links, and rapid decision cycles as much as basic aircraft control. Randolph’s 99th FTS is building an initial cadre of instructors and maintainers while AETC rewrites syllabi from the ground up, avoiding the temptation to simply plug newer software packages into older aircraft systems.
These fly-by-wire controls will allow the aircraft’s handling limits to be dialed back for early sorties and expanded as students progress, ultimately supporting more individualized learning paths and potentially reducing the number of flights that are needed to reach overall proficiency. 
Boeing says that its digital design approach should also speed up upgrades as training needs to evolve.
Sources: Boeing & Saab Look To Partner With BAE On New RAF Trainer
There may be a new contestant for the next RAF trainer jet.
A Program With Exceptionally High Stakes
Today’s news is a big step for an aircraft program that has been in the works for years. The process of getting the first AETC-assigned aircraft to Randolph is also a credibility market after a program that has wrestled with technical and schedule headwinds. Independent reporting has cited issues such as instability at high angles of attack, ejection-seat performance work, and overall supply-chain frictions, all of which pushed key milestones further forward.
Thus, there have been extensive delays in the decision to begin low-rate production in 2025. The Air Force’s own planning now points to an August 2027 initial operational capability for the first aircraft at Randolph, while the broader program of record still envisions hundreds of aircraft and dozens of simulators to replace the organization’s T-38 fleet over time.
The stakes are exceptionally high, with modern fighters and bombers demanding information-age pilot skills, and every year of operational slippage ultimately keeps students on a trainer aircraft that was designed for a different era in the cockpit. If overall integration stays on track, the Red Hawk could reshape throughput and overall readiness across air bases.
