into simulators to save money and time”.
The General said that the T-X family of
systems must fi ll 16 training gaps identifi ed
by AETC between the current standard of
graduate pilots and what’s required to meet
the demands of pilots selected to fl y fi fth-
generation fi ghters:
An ability to maintain high energy
manoeuvring
An ability to simulate a network with a
datalink with the added ability to simulate a
radar and a targeting pod
A glass cockpit, with a confi gurable
touchscreen display to enable replication of
displays fi tted to existing fi ghters like the F-15,
F-16, F-22 and F-35; a requirement to make
the transition to any one fi ghter type easier for
the graduate pilot
A very realistic GBTS that includes tablet-
style computers loaded with apps featuring
all of the academic component of the pilot
training syllabus, a throttle and side skip for
plug-and-play, with a laptop or computer
upon which to practise the next day’s sortie,
all in addition to simulators
AIR International asked General Looney
for his view on the prospect of a future T-X
aggressor and the applicability of the T-50
to the role. Explaining the history of the US
Air Force aggressor force, General Looney
believes there is an appreciation by the US
Air Force of the value that adversary training
brings to fi ghter squadrons. As a former F-15
Eagle pilot who benefi ted from aggressor
training during his career, he hopes funding will
one day be found to create a new aggressor
force. He said: “The natural follow-on for that
would use of the T-X aircraft. Although the T-X
programme is focused solely on pilot training,
I believe there is an understanding by the US
Air Force, and certainly by industry, that more
orders can be placed, and the T-X aircraft can
very easily transition into adversary mode with
little or no modifi cation whatsoever. It might
require, for example, an actual radar fi tted, so
it can present a more credible air-to-air threat,
but other than that, I can’t think of any other
modifi cation that would be required.
“If – and it’s a big if – the Air Force has
the opportunity to form an aggressive force,
it will all depend on whether they have the
resources and the budget to do so. There
are, of course, a lot of advantages to that,
because the Air Force would have complete
control over the entity, and an opportunity
for follow-on training for profi ciency. When
pilots fi nish an F-22 or F-35 tour, their next
assignment could be an aggressor pilot, which
is what the Air Force previously did with F-15
and F-16 pilots when the F-5 aggressor force
operating. Pilots served as an aggressor pilot
for three or four years, during which time they
accumulated hundreds of hours of fl ying time
and became exposed to building their craft
and expertise before returning to an F-22 or
F-35 tour, so it was a really nice fl ow.”Sales pitch
Lockheed Martin claims the T-50A will
create better pilots in less time for lower
costs. The company cites the Republic
of Korea Air Force, the original operatorof the T-50 trainer, which has reduced
the number of fl ights required in its KF-
16 operational conversion course to only
nine sorties. Better pilots, according to the
company, are created because the T-50
training system enables student pilots to
focus their airmanship skills on improved
aero performance, digital fl ight controls
and fl y-by-wire, with next-generation air
tra c management systems, while operating
from an anthropometrically designed fi fth-
generation cockpit.
Lockheed Martin’s T-50A is not the same
T-50 as operated by the Republic of Korea
Air Force, but a confi guration based on
the FA-50 fi ghter variant, the most capable
version of the T-50 series built to date, albeit
without the combat systems fi tted.
In February 2016, Lockheed Martin
announced its plan to o er the T-50A in
the T-X competition based on evaluation of
clean-sheet alternatives, which according
to company o cials posed prohibitive risks
to the programme’s cost and schedule
requirements. Should Lockheed Martin be
selected as winner of the T-X competition,
the company plans to build all 350 aircraft
at a fi nal assembly and checkout facility in
Greenville, South Carolina. The facility and
its operations centre were opened in August- T-50 fl ight operations started from the
Greenville facility in November 2016.
Lockheed Martin is partnered with Korea
Aerospace Industries, General Electric and
numerous subsystem suppliers for the
design and production of T-50A. AI
http://www.airinternational.com | 59“In a T-50 the student will learn with
a modern cockpit display and will
become very comfortable with his or her
interaction with a touchscreen display.”
Lockheed Martin’s T-50 chief test pilot, Mark WardLOCKHEED MARTIN T-50A MILITARY