AIR International – June 2018

LOCKHEED MARTIN T-50A MILITARY

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Additional system requirements are far

more numerous and the more interesting

ones are explained below.

Aircraft manoeuvrability is essential

performance criteria for any fast jet aircraft,

for T-X the US Air Force wants its new

trainer capable of withstanding the following

parameters with the aircraft in standard

confi guration, carrying 50% of its internal fuel

payload, at an airspeed up to Mach 0.9, at a

15,000ft pressure altitude.

• Instantaneous G


• G-onset rate greater than 6G/second


• Instantaneous turn rate with less than or
  equal to a 3,000ft (910m) turn radius


• Sustaining a turn rate less than or equal to
  a 4,500ft (1,370m) turn radius in level fl ight


• The ability to fl y with level one handling
  qualities to a positive angle-of-attack greater
  than the subsonic angle-of-attack at zero lift
  The T-X family of systems must provide
  situation awareness indicators and switches
  to support simulated employment of gun,

infrared and radar-guided missiles, GPS/INS-

guided munitions, general-purpose bombs

and laser-guided bombs. Missile employment

must be simulated with high o -boresight and

o -boresight capability, and a pilot-selectable

lead computing optical sight and/or enhanced

envelope gun sight. Air-to-surface weapon

employment must be simulated with the use

of a constantly computed impact point and

a similar mode for employing the gun, and a

constantly computed release point.

Even though T-X is a procurement

competition for a jet trainer aircraft, the

airframe must have a datalink capability

between aircraft with the ability to integrate

live, virtual and construct assets, and to

instruct tactical datalink employment using

an unclassifi ed real or simulated datalink. The

datalink’s connectivity must provide local

area, near real-time data exchange between

the weapon system trainer, the operational

fl ight trainer and the unit training device

components of the GBTS. Data exchange

between the GBTS components and the

aircraft is defi ned as line-of-sight within 100

nautical miles.

Connectivity refers to the ability of various

GBTS devices to connect via ethernet,

datalink, wireless or direct connection to

each other to enable training missions to be

conducted virtually, as a fl ight for formation

and intercepts.

A modular open system architecture

(MOSA) will be used for all kinds of reasons

including maintainability, interoperability and

long-term supportability. Cited as a fl exible

architecture design, MOSA is designed to

accommodate new and changing technology

and requirements, and to support rapid and

a ordable incremental technology insertion.

One important aspect of any aircraft is its

Born in the east,

made in the south