In September 2018, the United States Air Force (USAF) selected it for the T-X program to replace the Northrop T-38 Talon as the service's advanced jet trainer.

The USAF's Air Education and Training Command (AETC) began developing the requirements for a replacement for the supersonic Northrop T-38 Talon as early as 2003.

A fatigue failure of a T-38C killed its two-person crew in 2008, and the USAF advanced the target date of initial operational capability (IOC) to 2017.

[5] In the fiscal 2013 budget proposal, the USAF suggested delaying the initial operating capability to FY2020 with the contract award not expected before FY2016.

[6] Shrinking budgets and higher-priority modernization projects pushed the IOC of the T-X program winner to "fiscal year 2023 or 2024".

On 13 September 2016,[8] the team unveiled prototypes of the Boeing T-X, a single-engine advanced jet trainer with a twin tail, tandem seating, and retractable tricycle landing gear, powered with a General Electric F404 afterburning turbofan engine.

[36] In the training environment, it has been specifically designed for high-G and high-angle-of-attack maneuvers and night operations, with an emphasis on being easily maintained.

[40][41] A navalised version is also a contender for the USN's Undergraduate Jet Training System program, with a minimum order of 145 aircraft to replace existing T-45 Goshawks.

[47] The Japanese Air Self Defense Force has expressed interest in the T-7 (or a derivative of it) to replace their aging Kawasaki T-4 jet trainers.

[49] Boeing intends to offer an armed version of the T-7 to replace aging Northrop F-5 and Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet fleets around the world.