First Boeing-Saab T-7A Red Hawk Trainer Jet Rolls Out

The first American-Swedish T-7A Red Hawk training aircraft rolled off the production line at the Boeing Defense, Space & Security building at Lambert International Airport.

The T-7A is being jointly built by Boeing and Saab. The next steps for the program include a first flight for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) T-7A and Saab’s technology transfer to its U.S. operations.

This is the first of 351 aircraft to be delivered to the Air Force under terms of a $9.2 billion contract awarded to Boeing in September 2018.

The production aircraft sport the iconic “Red Tail” symbol of the famed Tuskegee Airmen of World War II. The Red Hawk name is derived from the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, one of the aircraft flown by the 99th Fighter Squadron, the U.S. Army Air Forces’ first African American fighter squadron.

The aircraft, along with simulators and associated ground equipment, will replace Air Education and Training Command’s aging fleet of T-38C Talon aircraft.

The Red Hawk, a joint effort between Boeing and Saab, is the first Air Force aircraft to use digital design tools to allow it to move from computer screen to first flight in 36 months.

Going forward, the aircraft will perform a series of ground checks and taxi tests before making its first flights in the coming weeks. Later this year, it will fly to Edwards AFB, California to begin flight tests.