📋 Tender Overview
Published Sept. 29, 2026 By Capt. Tyler Whiting Air Education and Training Command Public Affairs JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas (AFNS) -- Air Education and Training Command achieved a modernization milestone Sept. 16 as instructor pilots from the 99th Flying Training Squadron and civilian simulator instructors from the 12th Training Squadron executed AETCs inaugural live-virtual-constructive capability flight between the T-7A Red Hawk and the T-7A Ground-Based Training System. The first T-7A Red Hawk, piloted by USAF test pilot Maj. Jonathan Gremlin Aronoff and Boeing test pilot Steve Bull Schmidt, soars over Edwards Air Force Base, California, Nov. 8, prior to arrival. The T-7A will replace the 1960s-era T-38 aircraft by providing advanced pilot training capabilities for aviators learning to fly both tactical and bomber aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo by Joshua McClanahan) Photo Details / Download Hi-Res The flight kicked off with Red Hawk aircraft APT-4 piloted by Lt. Col. Michael Trott, 99th FTS commander, and Lt. Col. Phillip Bourquin, 99th FTS operations officer. The aircraft was digitally linked to two ground simulator cockpits flown by Robb Erickson, a retired Air Force colonel, and Ryan Sparkman, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, both civilian simulator instructors with the 12th TRS. The flight marked the first successful integration of live T-7A flight operations with synchronized synthetic environments inside AETC, validating the foundational digital architecture engineered to train future combat aviators. Through secure, high-bandwidth tactical data links, ground-based flight simulators communicated directly with the airborne T-7A maneuvering across local military training airspace. Rather than operating in isolated synthetic environments, the simulator instructors shared an identical common operating picture with the aircrew aloft. This data-link architecture allows simulator cockpits and airborne jets to track each others flight parameters, sensor sweeps and weapons employment simultaneously. A student in a ground simulator can fly as a virtual wingman or adversary against a live jet in the sky, while simulator instructors inject constructive threats, such as dense surface-to-air missile rings, electronic warfare jamming and simulated adversary aircraft directly into both cockpit displays in real time. Accomplishing this capability for the first time inside AETC represents a paradigm shift in how we train and build combat-ready aircrews, said Erickson, the 12th TRS T-7A civilian simulator instructor lead. When APT-4 took flight, we werent just flying another training sortie. We established a live, bi-directional data link fusing an airborne aircraft directly into our simulators and synthetic battlespace. LVC technology enables aircrews to rehearse advanced fifth- and sixth-generation tactical scenarios without the logistical expense, maintenance burdens or airspace constraints of fielding dozens of physical adversary aircraft. The power of LVC lies in its density, complexity and interconnectivity, Erickson explained. By tethering our simulators directly to the live aircraft out in the airspace, student pilots can experience the realistic, sensor-saturated operational environment they will face in front-line fighters and other combat aircraft. The synthetic injection we proved today challenges aircrews with threat presentations and sensor-management puzzles that were impossible to replicate on our legacy flying platforms, Sparkman added. The inaugural flight establishes a validated technical baseline for syllabus modernization under future undergraduate pilot training. As the 12th Flying Training Wing prepares for the arrival of the production Red Hawk fleet, the milestone demonstrates that instructors, ground controllers and syllabus developers can harness the aircrafts open-architecture digital backbone from day one. This initial flight confirms that our core digital architecture is sound, Erickson said. Proving that the T-7A and our simulators can communicate and fight together in the same virtual sky keeps us squarely on track to deliver cutting-edge training for tomorrows warfighter. I am immensely proud of our entire team of CSIs, IPs and Boeing support personnel. Quite literally, we are making history. U.S. Air Force Logo
