US Air Force to buy T-7A engines directly from GE, bypassing Boeing

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The U.S. Air Force plans to buy the engines for its new T-7A trainer directly from the manufacturer, rather than having Boeing—the aircraft's prime contractor—supply the engines as part of its contract.

The change may carry additional costs, but it gives the service greater control over a critical component of the jet.

Sources Sought Notices Issued

The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) released two "sources sought" notices for F404-103 engines in early July:

• One notice for the engines themselves
• A second notice for the engine's technical data package, required for acquisition and sustainment support

The F404-103 is a derivative of GE Aerospace's F404 engine, which powers the F/A-18 Hornet. The variant was developed specifically for the T-7. To date, "engines have been included with Boeing's T-7A aircraft orders," an AFLCMC spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

Government-Furnished Equipment Approach

The Air Force is now working on an agreement with Boeing to provide the engines as government-furnished equipment, the spokesperson confirmed.

"The Air Force is actively preparing for this direct procurement strategy, pending an agreement between the Air Force and Boeing," the spokesperson said.

A Boeing spokesperson stated that the two sides "began exploring this approach to allow the Air Force to own the engine procurement while we focus on the remainder of production. Our goal is to deliver the game-changing T-7A training system to the U.S. Air Force, and all of our negotiations are focused on how we can do that most efficiently and effectively."

Breaking Defense first reported on the potential arrangement in a series on the T-7 last month. The sources sought notices mark the first public confirmation from the Air Force that it is taking steps to implement the change.

A formal request for proposals is expected late this year, the AFLCMC spokesperson said.

Technical Data Package and Sustainment Concerns

The notice for the technical data package is separate from engine procurement, the Air Force spokesperson explained. The data package is needed "to stand up organic depot-level repair capabilities for long-term sustainment."

The service's need for the data package appears to confirm one of the issues that may have driven the decision to purchase engines separately: ensuring the Air Force obtains all necessary technical data for the T-7, according to longtime defense analyst J.J. Gertler.

"Boeing had apparently, at least according to the government, not included proper pass-through clauses in their deals with some suppliers to get the technical data the government believes it needs," said Gertler, director of The Defense Concepts Organization and senior advisor at AeroDynamic Advisory. "I don't know if one of those suppliers was General Electric, but if the government believed that they were having trouble getting the documents they needed from General Electric on this deal, [there is a solution.] Contracting directly with GE, the government can put that into contract."

Breaking Defense reported in June that the Air Force had concluded T-7 sustainment was "high risk" due to questions about technical data rights.

Leveraging F404 Experience

Gertler noted that the Pentagon's past experience with the F404 powerplant through the F/A-18 program—the Marine Corps still flies F/A-18s with the F404—could also be a factor.

"The U.S. government has been buying F-404s in large numbers for decades. … The original contract on that engine came with data—not the manufacturing data, but because the government had funded the development of the engine, they got the rights to operational-level and intermediate-level maintenance data for those engines," Gertler said. "And the government may believe that they already have that paperwork in hand and can leverage that by making a deal direct with GE."

Cost Implications

It is not unusual for the Pentagon to buy jet engines separately from the aircraft. It does so with:

• The F-35 (built by Lockheed Martin) and its F135 engine (made by Pratt & Whitney)
• The Boeing-built F-15EX and GE-built F110-129 engines

What is different in this case is that the Air Force is changing its approach midway through the program.

In negotiations, the Air Force could attempt to push for lower costs. Neither the government nor Boeing commented on how the change might affect T-7 pricing. But Gertler said the issue is a key question.

"If the engine is government-supplied equipment," Gertler said, "what's the … the new price per T-7?"

He added that renegotiating now is fraught with challenges.

Photo: Aircraft mechanics assigned to the 12th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron remove the variable exhaust nozzle and oil pumps on a T-7A Red Hawk engine during hands-on propulsion systems training at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, May 11, 2026. (U.S. Air Force photo by Zelideth Rodriguez)