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Randolph receives First T-7A Red Hawk
The Air Force is welcoming a new purpose-built aircraft designed to train today’s pilots for tomorrow’s fight.
In fact, as told by Christa D’Andrea, Air Education and Training Command Public Affairs, in the article T-7A Red Hawk: A new era for pilot training begins at Randolph, arriving Dec. 5, 2025 at the 12th Flying Training Wing (FTW), at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, the T-7A Red Hawk ushers in a new era of training for Air Education and Training Command, where next-generation pilot training takes flight.
“The aircraft delivery is the first physical representation of progress within the program,” said Brig. Gen. Matthew Leard, director of AETC Plans, Program, Requirements and International Affairs.
The T-7A marks a historic milestone for AETC as it will replace the six-decade-year-old T-38 Talon. While the Red Hawk represents the future of advanced training, the T-6 Texan II, which arrived in 2000 at Randolph, continues to play a crucial role in Undergraduate Pilot Training. AETC has plans to expand the T-7A program and eventually replace the Texan.
Named in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen, the T-7A Red Hawk will be assigned to the 99th Flying Training Squadron (FTS) “Red Tails” and, over the next several years, will integrate into the pilot training pipeline.
Commanded by Lt. Col. Michael Trott, the 99th FTS has the honor of continuing the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen while forging a next chapter with the T-7A.
“We intend to continue the legacy of breaking barriers and challenging assumptions by utilizing the advanced capabilities of the T-7 training system,” Trott said. “The 99th will re-write what pilot production looks like and shape the future of pilot training for the next generation of warfighters in America.”
What the T-7 brings to AETC and UPT
The T-7A Red Hawk is being introduced to replace the aging T-38C Talon, which was originally designed in the early 1960s.
For AETC, the T-7A represents a fundamental shift in how aviators are trained.
“From day one, students won’t just be learning to fly; they’ll be learning to manage information, interpret data from advanced sensors, and make critical decisions in a complex environment, all from within the trainer,” said Maj. Gen. Gregory Kreuder, 19th Air Force commander. “This aircraft enables us to close the gap between basic pilot training and the realities of fifth generation plus warfare, producing more capable, intuitive warfighters right out of the gate.”
Leard explained that while the T-38 and the T-7 look fast and sleek, under the hood the T-7 is a different class of machine.
Built on an open architecture, the T-7A can be updated over time, allowing the Air Force to add new features and modernize training without replacing the jet. Its fly-by-wire design also gives instructors the ability to tailor aircraft behavior throughout the syllabus, such as limiting G-loads early in training and expanding the envelope as the student progresses.
Altogether, the T-7A offers a flexible, upgradeable system that allows AETC to develop pilot training in ways the 1960s-era T-38 simply cannot.
“We will employ the T-7 in complex, multi-domain scenarios that were previously impossible in our training aircraft,” Kreuder said. “The challenge, then, is to adapt our training syllabi to leverage that new capability. We must avoid plugging our new jet into an old model. Therefore, we are actively developing our new curriculum from the ground up with a focus on data-driven and individualized learning paths.”
Training the right skills for the future fight
The T-7A shifts pilot training away from traditional seat-of-the-pants flying and toward the cognitive, information-driven skills demanded by fifth- and sixth-generation aircraft.
“Our legacy T-38 built incredible ‘stick and rudder’ aviators and served us well for many decades; however, it is ill-suited to prepare our pilots for the aircraft we have today and are acquiring in the near future,” Kreuder stated.
The T-7A directly addresses that gap by building the cognitive foundation pilots need.
Kreuder stated the T-7 is designed to shape a new kind of mindset that advanced aircraft demand and pilots will develop skills that include rapid decision-making, cognitive offloading to technology and managing complex systems under pressure.
“The T-7 is more about displaying and ingesting large amounts of information. That really is the challenge of the fifth-gen or sixth-gen world,” Leard added.
Ground-based training, LVC, and pipeline efficiency
The T-7A is part of a larger ecosystem that includes an associated Ground-Based Training System; and a separate maintenance training system is being procured so maintainers can train without pulling jets from the flying schedule.
The robust GBTS can reduce the number of sorties required to reach proficiency, allowing students to train quicker with fewer hours. Over the life of the program, that means fewer sorties per student to reach the same or better proficiency.
The T-7A also incorporates Live-Virtual-Constructive (LVC) integration, which enables the aircraft and the simulator to train together in the same scenario.
AETC wings are preparing by investing heavily in the instructor corps, sending them through specialized training so they become experts with this new system.
14 T-7A Red Hawk aircraft assigned to the 99th FTS Red Tails at Randolph
The Program of Record includes 351 T-7As, 46 simulators and associated ground-based training systems. The program will eventually extend to include replacing the T-6 Texan.
The aircraft is scheduled to meet Initial Operational Capability in August 2027, with 14 aircraft assigned to the 99th FTS. The end state consists of 40-60 aircraft purchased per year, ramping up by 2033 with the final procurement around 2035-36. The T-38 will remain in service until enough T-7As are in place.
Deliveries are planned for Columbus AFB, Mississippi, in Fiscal 2027, Laughlin AFB in Fiscal 2032, Vance AFB, Oklahoma, in Fiscal 2034 and Sheppard AFB in Fiscal 2035.
99th FTS
The 99th FTS, also known as the “Red Tails,” traces its lineage to the 99th Pursuit Squadron — the first African American fighter squadron in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Today, it continues to carry forward that legacy by training a new generation of U.S. Air Force pilots.
The squadron is also preparing to usher in the next era of pilot training as the first unit in the Air Force scheduled to receive the T-7A Red Hawk, a fifth-generation advanced trainer aircraft named in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen.
The 99th FTS is part of the 12th (FTW) at Randolph AFB. The 12 FTW is responsible for four single-source aviation pipelines – Pilot Instructor Training, Combat Systems Officer Training, Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Pilot Indoctrination, and Basic Sensor Operator Qualification. The wing manages all airmanship programs for USAFA cadets and Initial Flight Training for all Air Force Airmen scheduled to enter pilot, combat systems officer or remotely-piloted aircraft training. The wing also hosts an Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals program and conducts Electronic Warfare Training for the U.S. Air Force and multi-national forces.
Photo credit: Todd Schannuth / U.S. Air Force
