The search to find replacement primary undergraduate, and advanced pilot training aircraft for the U.S. Air Force has been a long and bumpy road that began in the 1970’s. The first significant attempt to replace the T-37 primary trainer came with the Next Generation Trainer (NGT) program won by Fairchild Republic Company and designated T-46A. Unveiled in 1985, the T-46A program was beset with technical and managerial issues that eventually led to its cancellation in March 1987.
The challenge to replace the aging Northrop T-38 Talon advanced trainer shares a similar history. Congress made attempts in 1979 and 1985 to no avail. In 2009, the Department of Defense set the requirements for the Advanced Pilot Training program (APT T-X) won by the Boeing/Saab team in 2017, and designated T-7A Red Hawk. The new program was not simply a new training aircraft, but an entire training system utilizing the aircraft, ground-based trainers, virtual training systems digital classrooms, as well as maintenance training systems.
Several issues impacted development of the first Engineering, Manufacturing, and Development (EMD) and Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) aircraft such as ejection seat certification, software issues, alterations of airframe design, and manufacturing and integration of the 8,000 projectors into the Ground-Based Training System (GBTS). The first EMD T-7A Red Hawk took to the skies for the first time in June 2023, followed by additional EMD airframes later the same year. With the continued delays, it is expected LRIP could begin in mid-2026, with Initial Operational Capability by second quarter 2028.
With fourth and fifth generation fighters coming off the line and operating in hostile environments, and sixth generation aircraft on the drawing boards, the need for an advanced pilot training system has never been greater.
Full article: A Tale of Two Trainers