Saturday, June 11, 2016

The T-X Is How The U.S. Air Force Will Train Its Elite Fighter Pilots Of The Future



Dave Majumdar, National Interest: T-X: How the U.S. Air Force Will Train its Elite Fighter Pilots of the Future

The United States Air Force is working on a set of system specifications for a new next-generation advanced jet trainer to replace the long-serving Northrop T-38 Talon, which first became operational in 1961.

While the venerable Talon remains an outstanding trainer, the diminutive twin-engine supersonic jet can no longer meet the demands of training pilots to fly advanced fifth-generation stealth fighters like the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor or the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. As such, the Air Force hopes to replace the T-38 with 350 new advanced jet trainers under a program it calls the Advanced Pilot Training (APT) or simply T-X, which includes a fully integrated aircraft, ground-based training system and sustainment elements. The service finalized the requirement for the new aircraft earlier this year.

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WNU Editor: The above video is Lockheed Martin's T-50A jet trainer being flown for the first time. It is the trainer that they are offering to replace Northrop's T-38 Talon

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