diff --git a/maven-plugin/rcptt-maven-plugin/src/main/java/org/eclipse/rcptt/maven/ExecuteMojo.java b/maven-plugin/rcptt-maven-plugin/src/main/java/org/eclipse/rcptt/maven/ExecuteMojo.java
index d283837ba..9794a8698 100644
--- a/maven-plugin/rcptt-maven-plugin/src/main/java/org/eclipse/rcptt/maven/ExecuteMojo.java
+++ b/maven-plugin/rcptt-maven-plugin/src/main/java/org/eclipse/rcptt/maven/ExecuteMojo.java
@@ -83,6 +83,7 @@ public class ExecuteMojo extends AbstractRCPTTMojo {
 	private static final String RUNNER_PLATFORM = "-runnerPlatform";
 	private static final String TESTENGINE = "-testEngine";
 	private static final String ENABLE_SOFTWARE_INSTALLATION = "-enableSoftwareInstallation";
+	private static final String RUNNER_PROGRESS_PROPERTY = "rcptt.runner.target_progress";
 
 	private static int shutdownListenerPort;
 	private static final String[] DEFAULT_Q7_VM_ARGS = new String[] { "-Xms256m", "-Xmx512m",
@@ -123,6 +124,7 @@ public void execute() throws MojoExecutionException, MojoFailureException {
 
 		List<String> q7VmArgs = new ArrayList<String>();
 		String[] userArgs = getQ7Coords().getVmArgs();
+
 		if (userArgs == null || userArgs.length == 0) {
 			q7VmArgs.addAll(asList(DEFAULT_Q7_VM_ARGS));
 			if (java.hasPermGen()) {
@@ -132,6 +134,10 @@ public void execute() throws MojoExecutionException, MojoFailureException {
 			q7VmArgs.addAll(asList(userArgs));
 		}
 
+		if (!containsProperty(q7VmArgs, RUNNER_PROGRESS_PROPERTY)) {
+			q7VmArgs.add("-D" + RUNNER_PROGRESS_PROPERTY + "=" + getLog().isDebugEnabled());
+		}
+
 		for (String arg : q7VmArgs) {
 			cmd.createArg().setValue(arg);
 		}
@@ -328,6 +334,16 @@ public void run() {
 		}
 	};
 
+	private static boolean containsProperty(List<String> args, String property) {
+		String prefix = "-D" + property + "=";
+		for (String arg : args) {
+			if (arg.startsWith(prefix)) {
+				return true;
+			}
+		}
+		return false;
+	}
+
 	private String getImports() throws MojoFailureException {
 		StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
 		for (File file : getProjectsDir().listFiles()) {
diff --git a/runner/org.eclipse.rcptt.runner/src/org/eclipse/rcptt/runner/util/TargetPlatformChecker.java b/runner/org.eclipse.rcptt.runner/src/org/eclipse/rcptt/runner/util/TargetPlatformChecker.java
index fcf51ebb4..f59e1c173 100644
--- a/runner/org.eclipse.rcptt.runner/src/org/eclipse/rcptt/runner/util/TargetPlatformChecker.java
+++ b/runner/org.eclipse.rcptt.runner/src/org/eclipse/rcptt/runner/util/TargetPlatformChecker.java
@@ -79,7 +79,9 @@ private void initializeTargetPlatform() throws CoreException {
 		targetPlatform = null;
 		compatibility  = null;
 		String location = PDELocationUtils.getProductLocation(conf.location).getAbsolutePath();
-		PrintStreamMonitor outMonitor = new PrintStreamMonitor(true);
+		boolean progressEnabled  = Boolean.parseBoolean(System.getProperty("rcptt.runner.target_progress", "true"));
+
+		PrintStreamMonitor outMonitor = new PrintStreamMonitor(progressEnabled);
 		if (conf.config != null) {
 			targetPlatform = TargetPlatformManager.createTargetPlatform(location, outMonitor);
 			Map<String, Version> versions = targetPlatform.getVersions();