Military Aircraft
Overview
The Raytheon T-1 Jayhawk is a twin-engine jet trainer built from the Beechjet 400A business jet. The U.S. Air Force bought 180 T-1As between 1992 and 1997 to train students bound for tankers and transports. The type is now being retired, and Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma was the last unit to fly it.
Live Fleet Activity (BE40)
📡
Fetching live data…
Specifications
Units
- Engine
- 2 × Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-5B
- Engine type
- Turbofan
- Thrust
- 2 × 2,900 lbf · 13 kN
- Avionics
- —
- Wing tips
- No winglets
- Seats
- 4
- Crew
- —
- Cabin width
- 4 ft 11 in · 1.50 m
- Cabin height
- 3 ft 3 in · 1.00 m
- Cabin length
- 17 ft 5 in · 5.30 m
- Exterior length
- 48 ft 5 in · 14.75 m
- Tail height
- 13 ft 11 in · 4.24 m
- Fuselage diameter
- 5 ft 8 in · 1.72 m
- Wing span
- 43 ft 6 in · 13.25 m
- Baggage volume
- —
- Gross weight
- —
- Empty weight
- 10,450 lb · 4,740 kg
- Max takeoff weight
- 16,100 lb · 7,300 kg
- Max landing weight
- 15,700 lb · 7,100 kg
- Max payload
- 5,850 lb · 2,650 kg
- Fuel capacity
- 530 gal · 2,000 L · 1,600 kg (Jet A)
- Maximum speed
- 468 kt · 539 mph · 867 km/h
- Cruise speed
- 392 kt · 451 mph · 726 km/h
- Approach speed
- 93 kt · 107 mph · 172 km/h
- Range
- 2,900 nm · 3,340 mi · 5,370 km
- Fuel burn
- —
- Ceiling
- 41,000 ft · 12,500 m
- Rate of climb
- 3,770 ft/min · 19 m/s
- Takeoff distance
- 3,900 ft · 1,190 m
- Landing distance
- 3,900 ft · 1,190 m
Gallery
(/)
tap to zoom
(/)
Live fleet activity details
📡
Operational Context
Table of Contents
What is the T-1 Jayhawk?
The Raytheon T-1A Jayhawk is a medium-range, twin-engine jet trainer used by the U.S. Air Force. Students selected to fly tankers and airlift aircraft learned jet crew skills on it after finishing basic training.
It is a military version of the Beech 400A business jet. The Air Force took 180 of them between 1992 and 1997.
Is the T-1 Jayhawk retired?
Yes, the Air Force has been retiring it. The service began paring the fleet in 2023, and Laughlin Air Force Base flew off its last Jayhawk on Dec. 17, 2024.
Columbus Air Force Base sent its last one to the Davis-Monthan boneyard in March 2026. Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma was the last unit still flying the type, and its final air-to-air photo shoot was flown on July 23, 2026.
The Air Force did not buy a direct replacement. It is moving that training to the T-6 Texan II and to simulators, and it is waiting on the new T-7A Red Hawk.
From business jet to trainer
The T-1A started as the Beechjet 400A, a small swept-wing business jet with two rear-mounted engines. The trainer first flew in July 1991, and the first aircraft reached Reese Air Force Base, Texas, in January 1992.
Student training began in 1993. The T-1A took mobility training away from the Northrop T-38 Talon, which still trained students bound for bombers and fighters.
The Air Force changed the airframe for school work. It added structural strengthening, more bird strike resistance and an extra fuselage fuel tank.
How the Jayhawk flies
Two Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-5B turbofans push the aircraft to an operating speed of about Mach 0.78. That is airliner-like speed, which is the point.
A tanker or transport pilot works in a jet with a crew, radios, airways and cruise altitudes. The Jayhawk teaches those habits in a small, cheap airframe.
The cockpit seats an instructor and two students. The cabin behind them has room for four, so it also served as a small navigator classroom.
Explaining the numbers
The full specification table for the aircraft is on this page. A few figures need context.
The speed row is a maximum, flown at medium altitude. The much lower long-range cruise speed, flown near the service ceiling, is the one that stretches the range.
The range figure comes from the Air Force fact sheet. Training sorties are far shorter, so students rarely used it.
Where it trained pilots
The T-1A flew at Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi, Laughlin in Texas and Vance in Oklahoma. Randolph in Texas used it to train instructor pilots.
Naval Air Station Pensacola used it to train combat systems officers. The 99th Flying Training Squadron at Randolph carries the Tuskegee Airmen heritage, and its Jayhawks wore a distinctive red tail.
Engines and wing
The engines sit on the rear fuselage, so the wing stays clean and the cabin stays quiet.
From below the wing sweep and the T-tail are easy to read, and they show how closely the layout follows a small airliner.
The Japanese T-400
Japan flies a similar version, the T-400, with JT15D-5F engines. It shares the same type certificate as the T-1A. Wikipedia lists 13 built, though that figure carries a citation-needed tag.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the T-1 Jayhawk retired?
The Air Force has been retiring it since 2023. Laughlin, Pensacola and Columbus have sent their aircraft to storage, and Vance Air Force Base was the last unit flying the type in 2026.
What is a T1 Jayhawk?
It is a twin-engine jet trainer, the military version of the Beechjet 400A. The Air Force used it to teach pilots bound for tankers and airlift aircraft.
Does the Air Force still fly the T-1?
Only in its final wind-down. Vance flew the last ones in 2026, and the remaining aircraft are headed for the Davis-Monthan storage yard in Arizona.
What replaced the T-1 Jayhawk?
There is no one-for-one replacement. Mobility students now lean on the T-6 Texan II and simulators, and the T-7A Red Hawk is the new trainer the Air Force is bringing on.
Was the T-1 Jayhawk a business jet?
It started as one. The Beechjet 400A became the T-1A with stronger structure, bird strike resistance and an extra fuselage tank.
Sources and references used for research and fact-checking.