The replacement of the Royal Air Force’s remaining Hawk T2 and T1 jets with a new advanced jet trainer (AJT) is destined to become one of Britain’s highest profile defence system acquisitions in the next several years, despite being almost ignored in the government’s Strategic Defence Review published this June. The fundamental design dates back 50 years and availability issues have been caused by engine reliability concerns. Boeing sees a global market of around 1,500 aircraft over time and the UK would be a powerful early adopter to enable the company to capitalize on the opportunity it perceives it has.
No formal competition has yet been launched, though there are indications this may happen early in 2026. Nevertheless, Boeing is ramping up its efforts to interest the MoD in the T-7A Red Hawk AJT, five of which have so far been received by the US Air Force for test and evaluation. The USAF, faced with a similar need to replace its aging T-38C fleet, selected the T-7A in 2018 and is set to acquire 351 aircraft. Although keen to offer its candidate, Boeing is reticent about the potential fit until a definitive requirement is issued. DA understands the estimated requirement will be for between 40 and 50 aircraft, to include some platforms for aerobatic display roles.
UK content and perhaps final assembly will clearly be key issues of any negotiation. There is already British content in the aircraft and BAE Systems, for example, has strong connections with both partners in the aircraft development programme – Boeing and Saab. There is also a strong legacy of British industrial involvement in previous procurements, such as the P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, AH-64 Apache helicopter and E-7A Wedgetail airborne warning and control aircraft.
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Competition for the Hawk replacement programme is likely to be severe. Likely candidates will range from the clean-sheet modular design proposed by Aeralis to the Leonardo M-346, Lockheed Martin/KAI T-50 and the Turkish Aerospace Hurjet, as well as the Boeing/Saab T-7A. Whatever platform is eventually selected, it will have to be capable of supporting a wide variety of training roles, including adversary air and be flexible enough to act as a combat aircraft in a secondary role.
Image courtesy of US Air Force
