The US Air Force’s (USAF’s) T-7A Red Hawk advanced trainer has fallen as much as 15 months behind schedule after parts shortages, initial design d

US Air Force T-7A advanced jet trainer delayed by up to 15 months

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2021-06-17 15:00:07

The US Air Force’s (USAF’s) T-7A Red Hawk advanced trainer has fallen as much as 15 months behind schedule after parts shortages, initial design delays and the discovery of aircraft wing rock.

The in-development Boeing T-7A jet was scheduled to reach Milestone C, a pre-production programme review, in the third quarter of fiscal year 2022, according to USAF budget proposal documents. But, the service now anticipates it won’t reach that mark until the fourth quarter of FY2023.

“The T-7 [Advanced Pilot Training] programme has inherent schedule risk because of the aggressive nature of the programme’s schedule,” says the USAF. “The T-7… programme office is continuously analysing methods to improve schedule and remains committed to working with Boeing to enable the T-7 programme to achieve [Milestone C] in 4Q FY’23.”

The service adds that the discovery of the T-7A’s wing rock, a type of instability at a high angle of attack, means that additional testing is required.