Saab, Boeing, and BAE Systems have signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to collaborate on the United Kingdom’s next fast-jet trainer, proposing a version of the T-7 Red Hawk as the core of a new training system for the Royal Air Force (RAF).
Under the agreement, BAE Systems will lead the industrial activity as prime contractor, with a UK-based final assembly line and expanded domestic supply chain. The partnership is intended not only to meet the UK Ministry of Defence’s Advanced Jet Trainer requirement but also to position the solution for future international pilot training opportunities.
UK searches for a Hawk successor
The need for a new trainer was formalized in the 2025 Strategic Defence Review, which called for a replacement for the RAF’s long-serving Hawk fleet. Designed to provide advanced fast-jet training, the BAe Hawk first entered service in 1976. After the retirement of the Hawk T1 in March 2022, apart from the Red Arrows, the Hawk T2 has served as the RAF’s primary advanced jet trainer.
However, defense assessments have increasingly highlighted limitations in the Hawk’s ability to replicate the sensor, data-link, and mission environment of modern combat aircraft. As the RAF transitions toward more complex platforms, including newer variants of the Eurofighter Typhoon, the Lockheed Martin F-35, and future sixth-generation fighters, a new trainer is required to bridge the capability gap and support a larger pilot training pipeline.
The upcoming competition is expected to attract multiple bidders, including Leonardo’s M-346, Korea Aerospace Industries’ T-50 family, and a modular jet concept from UK start-up Aeralis. The BAE-Boeing-Saab offer instantly becomes one of the highest-profile contenders, particularly due to its industrial footprint.
With Hawk out-of-service dates approaching and the RAF facing pressure to increase pilot throughput, the UK is expected to move quickly toward a formal procurement process.
T-7A Red Hawk at the center of the proposal
The T-7A Red Hawk, developed by Boeing and Saab for the US Air Force, was selected in 2018 as the successor to the T-38 Talon. The aircraft was designed using a digital engineering approach, paired with an integrated training system that links simulators and live aircraft in a shared synthetic environment.
The partners say this live-virtual-constructive ecosystem is at the heart of their UK proposal. With open-architecture avionics, embedded training systems, and a cockpit designed to emulate those of modern multi-role fighters and bombers, the T-7 is positioned as a platform that can evolve through frequent software updates and rapid capability insertions.
“This collaboration enhances the best of our technological capabilities, strengthens the transatlantic industrial base and offers opportunities for cooperative development,” said Bernd Peters, vice president of business development and strategy at Boeing Defense, Space & Security. He added that the consortium’s aim is to prepare RAF pilots for “advanced fourth-, fifth- and sixth-generation fighters.”
Saab’s head of aeronautics, Lars Tossman, said the partnership builds on the strong Boeing-Saab cooperation that delivered the T-7 and argued that the aircraft would be a “worthy successor to the Hawk.”
UK final assembly and export ambitions
BAE Systems would lead the delivery of the complete training system, including mission-system integration and a high-fidelity synthetic training environment. Simon Barnes, managing director of BAE’s Air sector, said the collaboration is designed to deliver “the best overall outcome for the nation,” supporting UK combat air readiness while generating industrial and economic benefits.
A UK-assembled T-7 would also bolster export prospects. BAE and Boeing both see potential opportunities among BAE’s long-standing fighter customers, including in the Middle East, and in future training requirements associated with the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), the tri-national initiative developing a sixth-generation fighter for the UK, Japan, and Italy.
source
