{"id":30261,"date":"2021-12-01T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-01T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/12\/01\/with-t-7-on-the-way-why-is-acc-eyeing-a-new-trainer\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:30:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:30:11","slug":"with-t-7-on-the-way-why-is-acc-eyeing-a-new-trainer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2021\/12\/01\/with-t-7-on-the-way-why-is-acc-eyeing-a-new-trainer\/","title":{"rendered":"With T-7 on the way, why is ACC eyeing a new trainer?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The Air Force is considering a new trainer aircraft \u2014 one intended to emulate 4th and 5th generation fighter jets and be able to better train the service\u2019s newest fighter pilots how to fly in combat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nope, not the T-7A Red Hawk<\/a>. Another one. Maybe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force released a request for information for a new trainer aircraft, dubbed the Advanced Tactical Trainer, on Oct. 12. But given the service has the first T-7s on the way, scheduled to arrive at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph in Texas in 2023, the service\u2019s apparent interest in another \u2014 similar \u2014 trainer left some observers scratching their heads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dan Grazier of the watchdog group Project on Government Oversight said the Air Force\u2019s consideration of another trainer aircraft raises questions about its strategy and priorities \u2014 and perhaps about the T-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis does seem like a really curious move,\u201d Grazier said in a Nov. 29 interview. \u201cThere\u2019s a couple of things that this move communicates that I think the Air Force didn\u2019t really mean to communicate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, the Air Force awarded a $9.2 billion contract to Boeing to build 351 of the Air Force\u2019s next trainer, unveiled as the T-7A Red Hawk<\/a> the following year. Its use of digital engineering, open architecture, and other innovative design techniques excited many service leaders, and was seen as a new model for rapid, efficient aircraft development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement, Boeing said it\u2019s interested in exploring what ACC wants to see in an advanced trainer and stressed the capability of the T-7 to evolve and meet the command\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom its digital beginnings, the T-7 was designed for growth,\u201d Boeing said. \u201cThis exciting opportunity is being explored to see how the T-7\u2032s growth path for future missions align with Air Combat Command\u2019s ATT initiative.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The T-7 is intended to replace the T-38 jet trainer, which dates back to the 1960s and has been at the center of several fatal crashes in recent years \u2014 the most recent<\/a> on Nov. 19. The Air Force\u2019s newest 5th generation fighters, the F-22 and F-35, are also far beyond the T-38\u2032s capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery day, that [T-38] airplane becomes just another step more disconnected from the advanced avionics, advanced sensing, the advanced processing that our modern fighters have, and so we can\u2019t fill that void fast enough,\u201d Air Combat Command head Gen. Mark Kelly said in an Oct. 25 event with the Mitchell Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelly said the T-7 is already slated to go to Air Education and Training Command to teach the service\u2019s youngest aviators how to fly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut I need to get our [ACC] aviators, as soon as I can, something that is not such a leap from a 1964 T-38 to a 2021 F-35,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelly acknowledged the T-7 may be able to do everything ACC needs it to do, and the answer could be buying more of them. But he also said industry may be able to offer some new ideas that could either be added to the T-7, or lead to a completely new air frame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that ACC needs additional features in the aircraft it uses to conduct fighter pilot training \u2014 features the T-7 was never required to have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelly said those features could include increased use of sensors, and increased fuel requirements for mission duration and afterburner use. And he expects it could have some rudimentary weapons computing capability and some simulation playback capabilities to teach pilots how to respond to threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll of those drive requirements that weren\u2019t in the original T-7 statement of requirements,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cAnd so it\u2019s not a criticism of the T-7 \u2014 they built what they were designed to build. But it may or may not fit the demand of going from flying to fighting, because they\u2019re a different avenue. They just happen to take place in the same space.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Air Combat Command declined an interview request from Defense News, but said in written responses to questions that this proposed trainer\u2019s requirements would differ from the T-7 and help ACC \u201cmost effectively and efficiently train fighter pilots.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe goal of the ATT is to provide pilots with training that emulates the aircraft (systems, displays, etc) they will eventually be flying at their operational unit, thus reducing the amount of training hours spent on operational fighter aircraft,\u201d ACC said in a Nov. 23 email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flying the ATT would allow pilots to acquire \u201ctransferable learned skills\u201d that would save combat fighters time they need for mission training and preparation, ACC said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want vs. need<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force first posted a request for information Oct. 12 for an Advanced Tactical Trainer that would primarily be used for Air Combat Command\u2019s Initial Tactical Training program. The RFI said it would also be used to provide adversary air support, or playing the enemy during combat training exercises, and lastly as a tactical surrogate for existing or future fighters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Q&A document posted online Nov. 9, drawn from one-on-one exchanges with industry representatives, further detailed some of ACC\u2019s hopes for this trainer. It would have to carry munitions for training purposes only, but not to release them. And it would have to emulate 4th and 5th generation fighters and their performance capabilities, possibly with transonic acceleration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ACC said in the Q&A it hopes that using the proposed trainer instead of actual fighter aircraft would shave 12 to 18 months off the timeline required to fully train a pilot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in a time when future budgets are expected to be tight and Air Force officials regularly speak about the need to make tough budgeting choices and possibly divest aircraft, Grazier said the service\u2019s apparent interest in another trainer doesn\u2019t fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis almost sounds like a \u2018want-to-have,\u2019 [rather] than a \u2018need-to-have,\u2019\u201d Grazier said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Todd Harrison, director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the RFI \u201cdoes make you scratch your head and wonder, how can the Air Force afford another new-start aircraft program when their acquisition pipeline is already quite full?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weighing T-7 upgrades<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Harrison cautioned that the Air Force\u2019s request for information on another trainer doesn\u2019t necessarily mean it\u2019s going to launch a whole additional program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, he said, the suggestions the Air Force collects could give it some ideas for improving the Boeing-built T-7A, allowing ACC to fly the F-35 less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is definitely going to ramp up the pressure on Boeing to adapt the T-7 so that it can meet these types of requirements,\u201d Harrison said. \u201cThe last thing Boeing wants to see is another training aircraft program being started that would compete for budget [dollars] with what they\u2019ve already won.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The T-7, which was designed to be easily adapted and upgradeable, should be able to do that, Harrison said. And if it means the Air Force could buy even more of their planes, he said, Boeing has a clear incentive to modify them to meet the ATT requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if the T-7 can\u2019t do what ACC needs, Grazier said, it raises questions as to whether the Air Force should hit the brakes on the program before it goes any further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDoes this mean that the requirements, and the design for the T-7A aren\u2019t what we need?\u201d Grazier said. \u201cAnd if that\u2019s the case, then should we still be pressing forward with a T-7A?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Venable, a former fighter pilot who now is a defense policy expert at the Heritage Foundation, said the apparent consideration of another trainer aircraft \u201cmakes little sense\u201d \u2014 and could be a sign the Air Force left some gaps in the capabilities it requested when it asked industry to build a trainer jet that became the T-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf Boeing is actually meeting the specifications that were called for in the RFI [for the T-7], they should be able to take that air frame and modify it,\u201d Venable said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It makes sense the Air Force would want to have an aircraft for fighter pilots to train in that doesn\u2019t require time in an actual fighter jet \u2014 particularly the F-35, which has turned out to be more expensive to fly than expected, Harrison said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI could see where they\u2019re coming from in terms of trying to \u2026 save wear and tear on the [fighter] platform,\u201d Harrison said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ACC would also benefit from having a dual-seat trainer like the ATT, so newer pilots could have an experienced pilot in the unit right behind them offering guidance, Harrison said. The 5th-generation F-22 and F-35 fighters are single-seat aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, Kelly said, ACC needs a trainer that can fly at a much lower cost than aircraft like the F-35, which costs between $34,000 and $36,000 to fly for one hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI need something \u2026 that\u2019s not $20,000-plus cost per flying hour, closer to $2,000 to $3,000 cost per flying hour, that comes a little closer to our modern avionics,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this issue underscores broader issues with the sustainability of the Air Force\u2019s current fighter fleet, Grazier said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPursuing another training aircraft is a real indictment on the current fleet of fighter aircraft,\u201d Grazier said. \u201cBetween the F-22 and F-35, this is further evidence that those programs really are unaffordable if we have to have an entirely new trainer aircraft to pick up the fleet.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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