The Milestone C decision paves the way for Boeing to transition into rate production of its new trainer for the US Air Force, which expects to procure 351 jets.
Boeing has received approval from the US Air Force (USAF) to begin low-rate production of the new T-7A Red Hawk trainer jet, which is set to replace the aged Northrop T-38C.
The air force announced the decision on 4 May, noting that Boeing’s T-7A design and industrial plan had achieved what is known as Milestone C in the parlance of Pentagon acquisitions. The actual approval was granted several weeks earlier, on 23 April.
Milestone C approval signifies that an acquisition programme has both a finalised design that has completed a test campaign and the manufacturing capacity to begin assembling new aircraft at rate. The decision marks the formal transition from development to the production phase of a new platform.
Rodney Stevens, the USAF’s program executive officer for training, says the approval represents a “monumental” step for the effort to replace the air force’s trainer fleet.
“It signifies our confidence in the aircraft’s design and our readiness to begin producing this game-changing capability at rate with Air Education and Training Command (AETC),” he says.
Now, Boeing will begin work on an initial Lot 1 order of 14 Red Hawk jets, with the goal of achieving initial operational capability for the T-7A by 2027. The full fleet is expected to be complete by 2036.
The latest fiscal year 2027 budget documents from the USAF indicate the service plans to fund the acquisition of 14 T-7As in the current FY2026 and 23 jets in upcoming FY2027. Annual purchases will continue ramping until plateauing at 60 aircraft per year in 2030 until the programme is complete.
With Milestone C achieved, Boeing’s T-7A programme manager Andy Adams says the airframer will soon launch rate production of the single-engined jet.
“Milestone C positions us to start low-rate initial production this year,” he says.
Boeing has already delivered five test-configured T-7As to the air force, including the first example provided to the AETC in San Antonio, Texas at the end of 2025. AETC oversees initial flight training for all USAF aviators and crew.
The air force plans to field up to 351 T-7As, which will replace the roughly 490 T-38Cs still flying with the USAF. These have an average age of 60 years, according to fleets data from aviation analytics company Cirium.
The aged T-38C fleet now suffers from maintenance challenges and reduced availability rates. This has impacted the ability of the USAF to certify new fighter pilots at the rates it would like.
“Replacing our 60-plus-year-old T-38s is a top priority,” says Brigadier General Matthew Leard, director of plans, programs, requirements, and international affairs at the AETC. “Our mission is to train the next generation of combat aviators, and the T-7A Red Hawk is the tool we need to do it.”
In addition to addressing the T-38C’s availability shortcomings, Leard says the T-7A will give pilot trainees a “far more realistic” training environment. The Red Hawk features an all-glass cockpit intended to emulate the pilot station of the Lockheed Martin F-35A stealth fighter, which the USAF continues to acquire in significant quantities, and the forthcoming Boeing F-47 sixth-generation fighter.
The USAF says the 1960s-era T-38 is not adequately preparing new aviators to operate advanced fighters like the F-35A and F-47, which require pilots to operate complex sensor systems and transmit targeting data to other battlefield assets while flying their aircraft.
Known as information management, those skills will become increasingly critical as the air force develops and fields uncrewed tactical jets, which pilots of fifth- and sixth-generation types will be expected to manage and direct from the air.
“The T-7A is a pivotal programme for the future of our combat air forces, and entering production brings us one step closer to putting this essential capability into the hands of our instructor pilots and students,” says William Bailey, acting assistant secretary of the air force for acquisitions.
Boeing is also expected to offer the T-7A, or another T-7 variant, for the US Navy’s Undergraduate Jet Training System tender to replace the navy’s Boeing T-45 trainers.
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