diff --git a/dd-java-agent/instrumentation/java/java-concurrent/java-concurrent-21.0/build.gradle b/dd-java-agent/instrumentation/java/java-concurrent/java-concurrent-21.0/build.gradle
index 7a42cad69ed..28c7bc2eeea 100644
--- a/dd-java-agent/instrumentation/java/java-concurrent/java-concurrent-21.0/build.gradle
+++ b/dd-java-agent/instrumentation/java/java-concurrent/java-concurrent-21.0/build.gradle
@@ -1,6 +1,4 @@
 apply from: "$rootDir/gradle/java.gradle"
-// Use slf4j-simple as default; logback has a high chance of getting stuck in a deadlock on CI.
-apply from: "$rootDir/gradle/slf4j-simple.gradle"
 apply plugin: 'idea'
 
 testJvmConstraints {
@@ -49,6 +47,13 @@ tasks.named("check") {
   dependsOn "previewTest"
 }
 
+// Use latest logback for Java 21+ tests with better virtual thread support.
+configurations.named("testRuntimeClasspath") {
+  resolutionStrategy {
+    force libs.logback.classic.latest
+  }
+}
+
 dependencies {
   testImplementation project(':dd-java-agent:instrumentation:datadog:tracing:trace-annotation')
 }
diff --git a/dd-java-agent/instrumentation/java/java-concurrent/java-concurrent-25.0/build.gradle b/dd-java-agent/instrumentation/java/java-concurrent/java-concurrent-25.0/build.gradle
index 4771160aeaf..5dbe0eb48c5 100644
--- a/dd-java-agent/instrumentation/java/java-concurrent/java-concurrent-25.0/build.gradle
+++ b/dd-java-agent/instrumentation/java/java-concurrent/java-concurrent-25.0/build.gradle
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+plugins {
+  id 'idea'
+}
+
 apply from: "$rootDir/gradle/java.gradle"
 
 muzzle {
@@ -5,3 +9,16 @@ muzzle {
     coreJdk('25')
   }
 }
+
+idea {
+  module {
+    jdkName = '25'
+  }
+}
+
+// Use latest logback for Java 21+ tests with better virtual thread support.
+configurations.named("testRuntimeClasspath") {
+  resolutionStrategy {
+    force libs.logback.classic.latest
+  }
+}
diff --git a/dd-java-agent/instrumentation/java/java-lang/java-lang-21.0/build.gradle b/dd-java-agent/instrumentation/java/java-lang/java-lang-21.0/build.gradle
index 97c18d0e083..34694aac557 100644
--- a/dd-java-agent/instrumentation/java/java-lang/java-lang-21.0/build.gradle
+++ b/dd-java-agent/instrumentation/java/java-lang/java-lang-21.0/build.gradle
@@ -3,8 +3,6 @@ plugins {
 }
 
 apply from: "$rootDir/gradle/java.gradle"
-// Use slf4j-simple as default; logback has a high chance of getting stuck in a deadlock on CI.
-apply from: "$rootDir/gradle/slf4j-simple.gradle"
 
 testJvmConstraints {
   minJavaVersion = JavaVersion.VERSION_21
@@ -30,3 +28,11 @@ tasks.named("compileTestJava", JavaCompile) {
 dependencies {
   testImplementation project(':dd-java-agent:instrumentation:datadog:tracing:trace-annotation')
 }
+
+// Use latest logback for Java 21+ tests with better virtual thread support.
+configurations.named("testRuntimeClasspath") {
+  resolutionStrategy {
+    force libs.logback.classic.latest
+  }
+}
+
diff --git a/gradle/libs.versions.toml b/gradle/libs.versions.toml
index a4ee463ff89..829c7e5c11d 100644
--- a/gradle/libs.versions.toml
+++ b/gradle/libs.versions.toml
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ lz4 = "1.7.1"
 # Logging
 slf4j = "1.7.30"
 logback = "1.2.13"
+logback-latest = "1.5.27"
 
 # JSON
 jackson = "2.20.0"
@@ -134,6 +135,7 @@ lz4 = { module = "org.lz4:lz4-java", version.ref = "lz4" }
 
 # Logging
 logback-classic = { module = "ch.qos.logback:logback-classic", version.ref = "logback" }
+logback-classic-latest = { module = "ch.qos.logback:logback-classic", version.ref = "logback-latest" }
 logback-core = { module = "ch.qos.logback:logback-core", version.ref = "logback" }
 log4j-over-slf4j = { module = "org.slf4j:log4j-over-slf4j", version.ref = "slf4j" }
 jcl-over-slf4j = { module = "org.slf4j:jcl-over-slf4j", version.ref = "slf4j" }
diff --git a/gradle/slf4j-simple.gradle b/gradle/slf4j-simple.gradle
deleted file mode 100644
index a83ef57a71a..00000000000
--- a/gradle/slf4j-simple.gradle
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,27 +0,0 @@
-// Apply this script when `slf4j-simple` should be used instead of `logback`.
-
-configurations.configureEach { cfg ->
-  def name = cfg.name
-
-  if (name.containsIgnoreCase("test")) {
-    // Exclude Logback from all test-like runtimeClasspath configurations.
-    if (name.endsWithIgnoreCase("runtimeClasspath")) {
-      cfg.exclude group: "ch.qos.logback"
-    }
-
-    // Add slf4j-simple to all test-like runtimeOnly configurations.
-    if (name.endsWithIgnoreCase("runtimeOnly")) {
-      project.dependencies.add(name, "org.slf4j:slf4j-simple:${libs.versions.slf4j.get()}")
-    }
-  }
-}
-
-// Configure `slf4j-simple` logger.
-tasks.withType(Test).configureEach {
-  jvmArgs += [
-    "-Dorg.slf4j.simpleLogger.defaultLogLevel=debug",
-    "-Dorg.slf4j.simpleLogger.showThreadName=true",
-    "-Dorg.slf4j.simpleLogger.showDateTime=true",
-    "-Dorg.slf4j.simpleLogger.dateTimeFormat=HH:mm:ss.SSS"
-  ]
-}