15 Jan 25. T-7 trainer production delayed again as Air Force, Boeing adjust plan. The Air Force’s new T-7 approach will allow for more testing before a production contract is awarded, which officials hope will reduce risk on the program. (Boeing)
The Air Force is further delaying the production contract for its newest trainer aircraft, the T-7 Red Hawk, and will expand its testing in a major reorganization of the program’s acquisition strategy.
The service originally planned to award Boeing a contract to build the first production T-7s in fiscal 2025 and would have bought seven jets this year. Under the Air Force and Boeing’s revised plan, the service will now award that contract in 2026, Air Force acquisition chief Andrew Hunter said in a Wednesday release.
“Acquisition programs cannot be stagnant, even when they are fixed-price,” Hunter said. “This is why I’ve directed the T-7A team to implement updates to reduce risk and increase our confidence in the aircraft design, all to ensure we can deliver the T-7A to the warfighter when needed.”
The Air Force will also buy four additional production-representative test T-7s using 2025 research and development funds that will be delivered in fiscal 2026. This will nearly double the fleet of five test aircraft now being flown at locations that include Edwards Air Force Base in California.
“We appreciate the partnership with the U.S. Air Force and are committed to providing our warfighters with the safest, most-advanced training system in the world,” said Steve Parker, interim president and chief executive for Boeing Defense, Space and Security, in a statement. “This innovative approach allows us to provide a production-ready configuration to the Air Force prior to low-rate initial production, further reducing any future risk to production. This will accelerate the path to delivering this critical capability on the timeline the Air Force needs.”
The Air Force is in the process of buying about 350 of Boeing’s T-7s, which will replace the aging T-38 Talon trainer fleet. The T-7 is a fifth-generation aircraft trainer that will make it easier to teach new pilots to fly fighters, such as the F-35, as well as bombers. Boeing has touted its digital design as an advancement in how planes are made.
But the T-7 program has been beset by design, testing and production issues that have caused its schedule to slip behind repeatedly. The service originally expected to buy the first operational T-7s in 2023, but problems with its ejection systems and flight control software pushed that to 2024, and then to 2025. It is now expected to be three years behind the original plan.
In February 2024, Boeing said it would delay delivery of its next test T-7 by several months due to quality problems with some parts. The company also said supply chain issues were forcing it to postpone the planned start of low-rate initial production by several months.
At the time, Boeing said the fifth engineering and manufacturing development jet would be delivered around March or April 2024. But in Wednesday’s release, the Air Force said the fifth jet was delivered in December 2024.
The additional test jets will allow Air Education and Training Command to speed up its test plans, as well as its development of a curriculum for flying the T-7, Hunter said. With the jets, the service will be able to stick to its plan of achieving initial operational capability in fiscal 2027.
“Procuring these [test jets] in FY25 also allows the Air Force and Boeing to improve manufacturing readiness prior to entering the production phase for the entire run of over 350 T-7As,” Hunter said. “Decreasing overlap between development, testing and production lowers the likelihood of potential costly refits of a significant number of aircraft.”
Hunter also said the new acquisition plan includes “using a management approach which incentivizes Boeing to address emergent issues that were not part of the contract that was signed in 2018 and to accelerate elements of the program.”
An Air Force official told Defense News one of those “emergent issues” was the service’s desire to increase the T-7′s range. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/Defense News)
15 Jan 25. UK-Japan military exercise starts today as Defence Ministers discuss closer cooperation.
Defence Secretary meets Japanese counterpart, setting out UK commitment to Indo-Pacific security.
- Exercise Vigilant Isles begins today with more than 100 UK troops deployed to Japan.
- Defence Secretary meets Japanese counterpart, setting out UK commitment to Indo-Pacific security.
- Ministers confirm that next-generation fighter jet programme headquarters will be in Reading, supporting jobs and growth mission.
British and Japanese troops have kicked off military drills in Japan, as the Defence Secretary met his Japanese counterpart today (15 January) in London for talks on strengthening defence ties between the two countries.
In the meeting, Defence Secretary John Healey confirmed that the headquarters for the joint UK, Japan and Italian future fighter jet programme will be established in Reading, supporting UK jobs and the government’s growth mission.
Exercise Vigilant Isles will see more than 100 UK soldiers from 16 Air Assault Brigade, the British Army’s global response force, train with Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces on the island of Kyushu. The annual exercise, now in its third year, will increase interoperability between both countries’ forces. The UK is the only European nation to conduct bilateral military training on Japanese soil.
The Defence Secretary welcomed the exercise and stressed the indivisibility between Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security in talks with Defence Minister Gen Nakatani. The two ministers also discussed progress on the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) – a joint initiative between the UK, Japan, and Italy to develop a next-generation combat aircraft – as well as the UK Carrier Strike Group’s visit to Japan later this year.
Defence Secretary, John Healey MP said: “With increasing instability across the world, it is more important than ever that we strengthen cooperation with our international partners like Japan. Today, Minister Nakatani and I have highlighted the positive progress being made on our important next-generation fighter jet programme, to strengthen our security cooperation.There are many miles between our two nations, but the UK and Japan stand closer together than ever in support of peace and security across the globe.”
With the recently ratified GCAP Treaty entering into force, Reading will host the new GCAP headquarters, supporting the delivery of the cutting-edge stealth fighter jet. The headquarters, known as the GCAP International Government Organisation (GIGO) and led by its first Chief Executive Mr Oka Masami from Japan, will strengthen each country’s combat air industrial capability while achieving value for money.
There are currently more than 3,500 people, including engineers and programmers, working on GCAP across the UK. In December, BAE Systems (UK), Leonardo (Italy), and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co Ltd (JAIEC) signed a Joint Venture Agreement to create a new company to lead GCAP delivery. The Joint Venture will also be headquartered in the UK, alongside the GIGO, and together they will support hundreds of UK jobs. This supports delivery of the UK Government’s Plan for Change, safeguarding national security while raising living standards across the UK with skilled jobs which foster economic growth.
Later this year, the UK’s Carrier Strike Group will visit Japan as part of the flagship 2025 Indo-Pacific deployment. The group, comprised of Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, her escorts and her aircraft, will work alongside the Japanese Self Defence Forces and other partners to help defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. They will conduct a series of operations and exercises, including a port visit in Japan.
This follows the successful deployment of HMS Queen Elizabeth to the region in 2021, and the Royal Navy boasts persistently-deployed Offshore Patrol Vessels HMS Tamar and HMS Spey operating closely with Japan and regional partners to promote maritime security.
(Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
08 Jan 25. Eyeviation, a pioneering startup specialising in Human-Aware Artificial Intelligence, proudly unveils VCAT (Virtual Cognitive-Aware Trainer), a transformative AI-powered virtual instructor redefining firearms training worldwide. With a bold promise to significantly improve trainees’ shooting capabilities in just 15 minutes, VCAT is already operational with selected Israeli Defence Forces units and security response teams.
Utilising a proprietary cognitive analytics engine developed with algorithms originally designed for fighter jet pilot training and enriched by performance data from elite special forces operatives, VCAT processes eye-tracking and other sensory data from off-the-shelf VR/AR wearables to deliver personalised and adaptive training based on real-time motoric, visual, and cognitive insights. The platform leverages AI-driven insights to analyse movement patterns, providing immediate biofeedback and immersive 3D visualisations.
The system’s innovative design allows a single operator with basic shooting and operational knowledge to oversee up to five trainees simultaneously. This scalability transforms operators into effective shooting instructors, addressing key challenges in the industry, such as rising ammunition costs, a shortage of shooting lanes and professional instructors, and limited training hours.
VCAT offers unmatched cost-effectiveness with virtually no setup requirements, enabling efficient micro-training sessions that deliver measurable results anytime, anywhere. By significantly reducing costs associated with installation, logistics, and ammunition, VCAT redefines modern training efficiency.
In shooting ranges, VCAT provides ammunition-free warm-up and tactical preparation sessions, helping users effectively prepare for live-fire training. Next step is to feature personalised live-fire recommendations based on performance data to optimise skill development.
“VCAT represents a revolutionary approach to training technology and the human-machine relationship,” says Or Landwer, CEO of Eyeviation. “By decoding human cognitive behaviours and enabling the machine to understand the trainee, our system efficiently processes data to deliver ultra-personalised and adaptive training sessions in real-time.”
“Our vision is to create the world’s best autonomous firearms trainers—accessible to everyone and designed to adapt in real-time to each trainee’s needs—delivering unmatched results efficiently and helping individuals reach their full potential faster than ever,” Landwer adds. (Source: joint-forces.com)