The Boeing T-7A Red Hawk has successfully completed taxi tests, a critical step in verifying the ground-handling capabilities and systems of the advanced trainer for the U.S. Air Force.

“The flight controls and commands to the fly-by-wire system were crisp and the aircraft maneuvered exceptionally well,” said Steve Schmidt, Boeing's T-7 chief test pilot. “Everything operated as designed and expected.”

The aircraft is one of five engineering and manufacturing development aircraft that will be used for flight testing this summer in St. Louis and will then transition to Edwards Air Force Base for testing in the fall.

“Our priorities are developing this advanced trainer and getting it to future fighter and bomber pilots,” said Evelyn Moore, vice president and T-7 program manager. “This test brings us one step closer to the T-7A Red Hawk taking to the skies.”

Since contract award, Boeing has flown two production representative jets up to six sorties a day recording more than 7,000 data and test points validating the platform's reliability.