Check out the Air Force's new T-7A Red Hawk, named for the legendary Tuskegee Airmen
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The Tuskegee Airmen were based in Alabama, at Tuskegee Army Airfield.
The first squadron, the 99th Fighter Squadron, were America's first African-American military pilots. According to Tuskegee University, 1,000 African-American pilots were trained at Tuskegee from 1941 to 1946.
Pilots from the 332nd Fighter Group escorted bombers during World War II and had the one of the lowest loss records of all fighter escort groups.
Although they were finally allowed to train to be pilots, the Tuskegee Airmen still lived in segregated quarters while training.
The Tuskegee Airmen also flew North American P-51 Mustangs, seen below in formation with a F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-22 Raptor.
The P-51 Mustangs and Republic P-47 Thunderbolts also got the distinctive red-tailed paint job.
The T-7A Red Hawk will replace the existing fleet of 57-year-old T-38C Talon aircraft, enabling trainees to get a more current and realistic flight experience.
"The distance between the T-38 and an F-35 is night and day," according to Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein.
"But with the T-7A the distance is much, much smaller, and that's important because it means the pilots trained on it will be that much better, that much faster at a time when we must be able to train to the speed of the threat," Goldfein said.
The T-7A will be built by Boeing and will have updated technology, Donovan said.
"The Red Hawk offers advanced capabilities for training tomorrow's pilots on data links, simulated radar, smart weapons, defensive management systems, as well as synthetic training capabilities," Donovan added.
The Red Hawks will arrive at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph in Texas in 2023.
The Air Force ordered 351 of the new aircraft, as well as 46 simulators and additional ground equipment, to the tune of $9.2 billion.
Pilots will be able to train for high-g environment, night operations, sensor management, and additional fifth-generation situations.
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