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The first new Air Force aircraft of a program expected to train a generation of airmen has rolled off the production line, complete with a paint job that honors the trailblazing World War II-era Tuskegee Airmen.
The T-7A Red Hawk training aircraft was unveiled by Boeing at Lambert International Airport in St. Louis, and is one of 351 aircraft to be delivered under a $9.2 billion contract signed in 2018, an Air Force statement said Thursday.
The T-7A will train airmen to fly fourth and fifth-generation fighters, such as the F-35. It is set to replace the Air Education and Training Compound’s T-38C Talon. The initial version of the T-38 made its debut in 1961 as the world’s first supersonic training aircraft.