{"id":39378,"date":"2019-09-16T17:29:25","date_gmt":"2019-09-16T17:29:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/09\/16\/this-is-the-name-of-the-air-forces-new-training-jet\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:53:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:53:43","slug":"this-is-the-name-of-the-air-forces-new-training-jet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2019\/09\/16\/this-is-the-name-of-the-air-forces-new-training-jet\/","title":{"rendered":"This is the name of the Air Force\u2019s new training jet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 It\u2019s a bird! It\u2019s a plane! It\u2019s the T-7A Red Hawk<\/a> and it\u2019s the name of the Air Force\u2019s next-generation training jet<\/a>, the Air Force\u2019s top civilian announced Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The name pays tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen, the first black military aviators who flew during World War II as part of the Army Air Corps, the precursor to the U.S. Air Force. The Tuskegee Airmen were known as Red Tails” due to the red paint applied to the tails of their aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acting Air Force Secretary Matt Donovan announced the new designation during a keynote speech at the Air Force Association\u2019s annual conference, accompanied by retired Col. Charles McGee, a P-51 Mustang pilot and one of the members of the Tuskegee Airmen who flew more than 400 combat missions during World War II, Korea and Vietnam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After unveiling a red-tailed mockup of the T-7A, Donovan noted that the Red Hawk would be a \u201cstaple of a new generation of aircraft\u201d for the Air Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the Tuskegee Airmen, \u201cthe name is also a tribute to the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, an American fighter aircraft that first flew in 1938 and was flown by the 99th Fighter Squadron, the U.S. Army Air Force\u2019s first African American fighter squadron,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more from the Air Force Association\u2019s 2019 conference here.<\/b><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, Boeing won the $9.2 billion contract for the T-7 program \u2014 formerly known as T-X \u2014 after submitting a bid that shaved about $10 billion off the Air Force\u2019s initial estimates.<\/p>\n\n\n\t