graduates to the advanced phase in the T-50,
they can then use the extra power a orded
by afterburner to learn how to fi ght with the
aircraft, understand what afterburner gives
them, what fuel consumption rates are and
really push performance way up. Lockheed
Martin believes keeping the afterburner-
equipped engine on the T-50 is important,
because it enables the aircraft to conduct the
full gamut of training: basic and advanced.”
The T-50’s performance allows it to
conduct other missions outside of advanced
pilot training, the most likely being used as
an adversary fi ghter in the classic aggressor
role. By 2030, the US Air Force has forecast
an annual requirement for 130,000 individual
aggressor sorties to support its F-35 fl eet. As a
consequence of that requirement, the Air Force
is already citing T-X aggressor as a solution. That
means use of the aircraft type selected for the
forthcoming T-X programme as a dedicated
adversary aircraft in what would certainly require
a new and bigger aggressor force. The T-50’s
manoeuvrability, an aerial refuelling capability,
its datalink system which would enable threat
presentations to be placed on the network,
extended to the classifi ed Link 16 network if a
MIDS terminal is carried, and even high-end
threat if a radar system is also fi tted, make the jet
a perfect type for the aggressor role.
Downsizing
One of the proposed changes to advanced
pilot training with the T-X family of systems is
downsizing, which is a reference to changing
the shape of where a student fl ies the hours
during their entire training programme.
Under AETC’s current advanced pilot training
programmes, a student completes a year of
pilot training, half of which is fl own in the
T-38. For students selected to fl y fi ghter
aircraft, a three-month introduction to
fi ghter fundamentals course follows, and
then six to nine months at a type-specifi c
formal training unit. The six to nine months
spent at the formal training unit is a very
expensive phase of a pilot’s fl ying training
programme, because it involves fl ying a
fourth or fi fth-generation aircraft, and it
cause wear and tear on aircraft that are
combat assets. In the future, once T-X and
downsizing is in e ect, the introduction to
fi ghter fundamentals course will probably
extend beyond three months, possibly as
long as nine months, and the formal training
unit phase may be reduced to a three-month
programme. The number of hours fl own by
each student is also likely to change, given
the capability of today’s and future simulators
where some fl ight hours will be o oaded.
The step-up in trainer aircraft quality a orded
by the type chosen for T-X will also have a
signifi cant e ect. Today there is very little to
compare a 1960 model T-38C Talon with a
2018 model F-35A Lightning II. The advent
of T-X will a ord graduate pilots a level of
performance and capability that will make their
transition into an advanced fi ghter quicker.
AIR International asked Mark Ward what
he believes the T-50 can do for a student
in specialised undergraduate pilot training
and introduction to fi ghter fundamentals
programmes. He said:
“That’s a big question. In basic training,
during which a student learns the basic
skills, how to land, fl y in weather, using the
instruments, in a T-50 the student will do
so with a modern cockpit display and willbecome very comfortable with his or her
interaction with a touchscreen display.
“Once a student moves into introduction
to fi ghter fundamentals with the T-50, the
performance to manoeuvre, dog fi ght and
how to fl y di erent formations required for
tactical operations will be a world away from
the current T-38. A student will be able to use
the datalink, fl y datalink formation, conduct
[simulated] radar operations, all in a progressive.
They will learn how to manoeuvre and use the
aircraft’s systems and capabilities, including
aerial refuelling. However, once the student
is done with the IFF [introduction to fi ghter
fundamentals] phase, they will require a much
shorter transition into a fi ghter, because he
will have a good understanding of the tactical
requirements such as datalink formation and the
positions required for air-to-air engagements
and air-to-ground strikes based on the tactics
instruction given in the T-X trainer.”Background on T-X
Bill Looney is a retired US Air Force General,
a former F-15 Eagle pilot, and a former
commander of AETC. Discussing some of the
early thinking behind the T-X programme,
he explained how, during his tenure ascommander of AETC, apparent the need for a
new jet trainer was given the shortcomings of
the Talon in training pilots for the F-22 Raptor
and the F-35 Lightning II.
He said: “The T-38 is a great aeroplane,
but it’s been around since the early 1960s
and was built primarily to train pilots for, what
were then, third-generation fi ghters, and
has since trained pilots destined for fourth-
generation fi ghters, but trying to apply it to
fi fth-generation pilot training is just too hard.
It is lacking in its ability to pull g. Only 5g is
available; we require 8.5 to 9g. The avionics are
not up to speed, and digital and connectivity
capabilities are not there. Nor is it able to do
aerial refuelling [and] it does not have a radar
or a targeting pod, so it was very apparent to
all of us at AETC that the time had come to get
serious about replacing it with a new trainer
aircraft. Work began on that concept [now
dubbed T-X] in the 2006 to 2007 timeframe.”
Based on his command experience at AETC,
Gen Looney said the US Air Force wants an
aircraft that is capable of manoeuvring in high
G fl ight scenarios, one that is network centric
with an all-glass cockpit, and equipped with
simulated radar and targeting pod systems,
with a virtual capability that links to simulators,
and a constructive element in which targets
can be virtually embedded into a live, virtual
and constructive scenario.
Part of the T-X family of systems
requirement is a ground-based element that
according to Gen Looney, “creates a realistic
environment to the point where it can o oad
some of the sorties currently fl own in aircraftLEFT: This nose-on shot clearly shows the T-50A’s
forward and mid-fuselage form along with the
confi guration of the side-mounted air inlets.
Note also the head-up display in the forward
cockpit and the visibility a orded to the pilot in
the aft cockpit; an essential aspect for a trainer
aircraft.A Lockheed Martin crew chief signals the
pilot to hold on his brakes while the chocks
are pulled from the main wheels of T-50A
TX-2 on the Greenville fl ight line.58 | http://www.airinternational.comMILITARY LOCKHEED MARTIN T-50A