L3Harris Technologies has won a $91.5 million contract from Boeing to supply mission management processors for the T-7A Red Hawk, the first U.S. Air Force jet trainer in 60 years.

The mission management processors, developed specifically for the Red Hawk, collate multiple data streams, making the information a pilot has to process in-flight easier to decipher. The sensors and communication capabilities maximise battlespace awareness by connecting internal and external data networks and link video feeds to flight displays. The processors also host specific simulations for pilots undergoing training.

The T-7A Red Hawk, slated to be operational by 2024, pays tribute to the famed African American Tuskegee Airmen of World War II, known as the Red Tails.

“L3Harris mission management processors are key to the T-7A Red Hawk's mission of training the next generation of Air Force pilots,” says Ed Zoiss, president, Space and Airborne Systems, L3Harris. “The processors deliver technology the Air Force can rely upon to bolster pilot readiness.”

The processor technology is part of a digital, open-systems design for the aircraft that decreases maintenance and lifecycle costs while increasing operational reliability. Designed for future growth opportunities, the processors include extra payload slots to expand mission capabilities.

The mission management processor builds on L3Harris' record of modular open-systems innovation and mission management processors, including those on the F-35 and F/A-18 multirole aircraft as well as the U.S. Navy's new MQ-25 unmanned tanker.