The T-7A Red Hawk replaces the T-38C Claw Jet Trainer.

T-7A Red Hawk:

Between 1961 and 1972, 1146 T-38C supersonic jet trainers were produced by the Northrop company, and are still used for the training of fighter pilots in many countries of the world, including the USA.

On April 28, 2022, St. A ceremony was held at the Boeing facilities in St. Louis for the first T-7A Red Hawk supersonic trainer jet, whose production was completed. As a result of the tender it won in September 2018, Boeing will deliver 351 T-7A Red Hawk supersonic trainer jet aircraft for pilot training to the US Air Force for $9.2 billion. The President of the American Air Force Flight Academy, in his speech at the ceremony, said that the new aircraft will be used in the training of the pilots of the fourth and fifth generation warplanes.

The Red Hawk's tail is painted red because the 99th Combat Detachment of World War II, made up of all-black pilots, is famous for having their tails painted red. During the Second World War, the USA also applied racial segregation laws in the army. Blacks were forbidden from serving in units with whites. The United States is trying to pay off its debt to black aviators by calling this plane the name and inviting the surviving World War II veterans to the ceremony.

The T-7A Red Hawk supersonic trainer jet was designed in collaboration with the US firm Boeing and the Swedish firm SAAB.

Update on HÜRKUŞ Basic Trainer Aircraft Program:

In Turkey, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ) started the propeller-driven HÜRKUŞ and then the HÜRJET training aircraft project to be used in the training of pilots to be trained for the Turkish Air Force. The Hürkuş single-turboprop engine twin trainer aircraft project started in 2006 and the aircraft made its first flight in 2013. It has three different models:

The HÜRKUŞ-A model is the aircraft that has been jointly certified by the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (SHGM) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). It is a development aircraft.

The HÜRKUŞ-B model, on the other hand, was produced as a military training aircraft, with the avionics suite added to the HÜRKUŞ-A aircraft, and intended to be used in Çiğli as a basic trainer aircraft for the Air Force, together with the KT-1 aircraft. This aircraft, which is expected to enter the Air Force inventory on 1 June 2018 as per the contract, has not yet entered the inventory for various reasons.

The Hürkuş-C is being developed as a light ground attack aircraft.

HÜRJET Replaces T-38C in Turkey:

The Turkish Air Force has 33 T-38 C trainers. Turkish Stars, the air aerobatic fleet, also performs their shows with F-5 aircraft, which are from the same family as the T-38C.

It is envisaged that the HURJET, which is envisaged to be an aircraft similar to the T-7A, will be used instead of the T-38 aircraft in Turkey. Work on the development of the Domestic Jet Training and Light Attack Aircraft project, HÜRJET, started in 2017 with the initiative of TAI, with factory facilities. It is planned to provide pilot training for single-engine, tandem-seat and modern avionic-suited aircraft and fourth and fifth generation aircraft.

HÜRJET aircraft are planned to replace the T-38 aircraft used for Jet Evolvement Training in the Turkish Air Force, as well as the F-5 aircraft currently used in Akrotim demonstrations.

The supersonic jet aircraft HÜRJET is scheduled to make its maiden flight on March 18, 2023. Turkish Air Force Command placed an order for 16 Hürjets to TAI-TUSAŞ in the first place.

An armed version of the aircraft is planned to be produced in the future under the name HÜRJET-C.