A T-7 Red Hawk takes flight. (Graphic by Breaking Defense, assets via DVIDS)
This week, Breaking Defense published a trio of new stories looking at the past, present and future of the T-7 Red Hawk, the Boeing-made trainer jet that the US Air Force intends to use to school the next generation of pilots.
Based on previously unreported documents and bolstered by interview with sources as well as former and current Air Force officials, the investigation — which came in around 7,000 words over the three pieces — provides an unprecedented look at how a key Pentagon acquisition program comes together, and where it threatens to fall apart.
Part one of the project covers the basics of how we got here, while laying out some of the major concerns shared by sources about the state of the program.
Part two focuses on the back and forth between the Air Force and prime contractor Boeing over the data rights to the project, and how that could potentially sabotage sustainment plans going forward.
