T-7A Red Hawk jet trainer at the core of future British Royal Air Force training system
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BAE Systems, Boeing, and Saab have signed a letter of intent to offer a T-7A Red Hawk-based training system as the Royal Air Force’s future advanced jet trainer, replacing the Hawk fleet identified for retirement in the UK Strategic Defence Review. The bid packages the US Air Force’s next-generation trainer with UK final assembly, a ground-based synthetic ecosystem, and links to the Global Combat Air Programme to prepare pilots for fourth, fifth, and eventual sixth-generation fighters.
On 18 November 2025, in the United Kingdom, BAE Systems, Saab, and Boeing announced the signing of a letter of intent to propose the T-7A Red Hawk as the basis for the next training system for Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter pilots. The information is made public in a joint corporate release that follows on from the 2025 Strategic Defence Review, which sets out the requirement for a new Advanced Jet Trainer to replace the Hawk family. The purpose is to adapt crew training to the gradual arrival of fourth, fifth, and sixth-generation fighters, in an environment shaped by the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP). BAE Systems takes the lead on the industrial framework, while Boeing and Saab provide the architecture of the system already selected by the United States Air Force (USAF). The agreement aims to meet UK needs while opening the way to international opportunities in the advanced training market.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The T-7A Red Hawk is a recent-generation advanced trainer designed from the outset as an integrated system (Picture source: Saab)
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is looking for a solution that goes beyond a simple trainer aircraft and instead forms a complete training ecosystem. According to the outline presented, BAE Systems directs an industrialisation process with final assembly on British soil and the progressive integration of local suppliers for the airframe, mission systems, and simulation tools. This choice supports the national defence industrial base by maintaining skills in aeronautical engineering and testing, while relying on transatlantic cooperation. Saab’s presence also reflects the continuity of an Anglo-Swedish partnership already visible on other radar and electronic warfare programmes. At the same time, London seeks to position itself as a provider of training solutions for existing BAE Systems customers in the Middle East and Asia, where the modernisation of pilot schools is becoming a recurring topic.
From a technical perspective, the T-7A Red Hawk is a recent-generation advanced trainer designed from the outset as an integrated system. The tandem two-seat aircraft is powered by a General Electric F404-GE-103 (F404) afterburning turbofan, delivering around 17,700 pounds of thrust and providing a thrust-to-weight ratio clearly higher than that of the T-38 Talon in service with the United States Air Force (USAF). The airframe is about 14.3 metres long with a wingspan of 9.32 metres and operates at speeds close to Mach 0.95, with load factors of around 8 g and high angles of attack, conditions that enable it to reproduce combat profiles close to those of modern fighters while remaining within the scope of a trainer aircraft. The digital cockpit, with large multifunction displays and fly-by-wire controls, mirrors the layout of Typhoon and F-35 cockpits and, in the longer term, of the future Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) fighter.
The core of the proposal lies in the training architecture built around a high-fidelity Ground-Based Training System (GBTS). This Ground-Based Training System (GBTS) brings together immersive simulators, mission preparation tools, and a Live Virtual Constructive (LVC) environment capable of linking aircraft in flight, simulators, and virtual entities within a single scenario. The profiles replicate the avionics and flight dynamics of operational platforms, with an open architecture that allows new sensors, new threat libraries, or fifth-generation fighter behaviour to be introduced through software updates. The solution is intended to support future network architectures, the development of collaborative combat concepts, and the ability to generate a Recognized Maritime Picture/Common Operational Picture (RMP/COP) from multiple platforms, including a trainer aircraft. This flexibility directly interests air forces that need to adapt their training syllabus without restarting a complete programme for each new generation of fighter.
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is seeking to bring advanced training as close as possible to real combat conditions. The T-7A offers a flight envelope and fly by wire controls that allow dogfighting, high g interception and high angle of attack manoeuvres, with built in protections on angle of attack and g loading to preserve crew safety. Embedded simulation makes it possible to inject radar threats, missiles and electronic warfare effects in real time without using external pods, which lowers costs while maintaining realism. Connected to the ground based simulator network, the system permits full training campaigns, from solo flights to composite air-to-air and air-to-surface missions in Emission Control (EMCON) environments, with management of communications, datalinks, and a shared Common Operational Picture (RMP/COP). The integration of Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) drones into these scenarios also opens the way to manned-unmanned teaming exercises already at the training stage, which reduces the instructional burden on more expensive front-line combat fleets.
This project is part of a reconfiguration of the military trainer aircraft market. The British defence industrial base now faces competition from established solutions such as the Italian M-346, the Korean T-50 Golden Eagle, or the Hürjet developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries as part of Türkiye’s aeronautical effort. In parallel, the modular Aeralis concept promotes a more sovereign option. In this context, the solution promoted by BAE Systems, Boeing, and Saab is positioned as a compromise combining an American-Swedish platform, assembly, and adaptation in the United Kingdom and an offer designed for interoperability with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces. If London confirms this choice, it will strengthen its position in advanced training value chains, provide its allies with a standard compatible with future collaborative combat architectures, and influence the balance of training ecosystems in Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific.
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{loadposition sidebarpub}
BAE Systems, Boeing, and Saab have signed a letter of intent to offer a T-7A Red Hawk-based training system as the Royal Air Force’s future advanced jet trainer, replacing the Hawk fleet identified for retirement in the UK Strategic Defence Review. The bid packages the US Air Force’s next-generation trainer with UK final assembly, a ground-based synthetic ecosystem, and links to the Global Combat Air Programme to prepare pilots for fourth, fifth, and eventual sixth-generation fighters.
On 18 November 2025, in the United Kingdom, BAE Systems, Saab, and Boeing announced the signing of a letter of intent to propose the T-7A Red Hawk as the basis for the next training system for Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter pilots. The information is made public in a joint corporate release that follows on from the 2025 Strategic Defence Review, which sets out the requirement for a new Advanced Jet Trainer to replace the Hawk family. The purpose is to adapt crew training to the gradual arrival of fourth, fifth, and sixth-generation fighters, in an environment shaped by the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP). BAE Systems takes the lead on the industrial framework, while Boeing and Saab provide the architecture of the system already selected by the United States Air Force (USAF). The agreement aims to meet UK needs while opening the way to international opportunities in the advanced training market.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The T-7A Red Hawk is a recent-generation advanced trainer designed from the outset as an integrated system (Picture source: Saab)
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is looking for a solution that goes beyond a simple trainer aircraft and instead forms a complete training ecosystem. According to the outline presented, BAE Systems directs an industrialisation process with final assembly on British soil and the progressive integration of local suppliers for the airframe, mission systems, and simulation tools. This choice supports the national defence industrial base by maintaining skills in aeronautical engineering and testing, while relying on transatlantic cooperation. Saab’s presence also reflects the continuity of an Anglo-Swedish partnership already visible on other radar and electronic warfare programmes. At the same time, London seeks to position itself as a provider of training solutions for existing BAE Systems customers in the Middle East and Asia, where the modernisation of pilot schools is becoming a recurring topic.
From a technical perspective, the T-7A Red Hawk is a recent-generation advanced trainer designed from the outset as an integrated system. The tandem two-seat aircraft is powered by a General Electric F404-GE-103 (F404) afterburning turbofan, delivering around 17,700 pounds of thrust and providing a thrust-to-weight ratio clearly higher than that of the T-38 Talon in service with the United States Air Force (USAF). The airframe is about 14.3 metres long with a wingspan of 9.32 metres and operates at speeds close to Mach 0.95, with load factors of around 8 g and high angles of attack, conditions that enable it to reproduce combat profiles close to those of modern fighters while remaining within the scope of a trainer aircraft. The digital cockpit, with large multifunction displays and fly-by-wire controls, mirrors the layout of Typhoon and F-35 cockpits and, in the longer term, of the future Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) fighter.
The core of the proposal lies in the training architecture built around a high-fidelity Ground-Based Training System (GBTS). This Ground-Based Training System (GBTS) brings together immersive simulators, mission preparation tools, and a Live Virtual Constructive (LVC) environment capable of linking aircraft in flight, simulators, and virtual entities within a single scenario. The profiles replicate the avionics and flight dynamics of operational platforms, with an open architecture that allows new sensors, new threat libraries, or fifth-generation fighter behaviour to be introduced through software updates. The solution is intended to support future network architectures, the development of collaborative combat concepts, and the ability to generate a Recognized Maritime Picture/Common Operational Picture (RMP/COP) from multiple platforms, including a trainer aircraft. This flexibility directly interests air forces that need to adapt their training syllabus without restarting a complete programme for each new generation of fighter.
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is seeking to bring advanced training as close as possible to real combat conditions. The T-7A offers a flight envelope and fly by wire controls that allow dogfighting, high g interception and high angle of attack manoeuvres, with built in protections on angle of attack and g loading to preserve crew safety. Embedded simulation makes it possible to inject radar threats, missiles and electronic warfare effects in real time without using external pods, which lowers costs while maintaining realism. Connected to the ground based simulator network, the system permits full training campaigns, from solo flights to composite air-to-air and air-to-surface missions in Emission Control (EMCON) environments, with management of communications, datalinks, and a shared Common Operational Picture (RMP/COP). The integration of Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) drones into these scenarios also opens the way to manned-unmanned teaming exercises already at the training stage, which reduces the instructional burden on more expensive front-line combat fleets.
This project is part of a reconfiguration of the military trainer aircraft market. The British defence industrial base now faces competition from established solutions such as the Italian M-346, the Korean T-50 Golden Eagle, or the Hürjet developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries as part of Türkiye’s aeronautical effort. In parallel, the modular Aeralis concept promotes a more sovereign option. In this context, the solution promoted by BAE Systems, Boeing, and Saab is positioned as a compromise combining an American-Swedish platform, assembly, and adaptation in the United Kingdom and an offer designed for interoperability with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces. If London confirms this choice, it will strengthen its position in advanced training value chains, provide its allies with a standard compatible with future collaborative combat architectures, and influence the balance of training ecosystems in Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific.
