Ramona Adams
Lockheed Martin has completed the first test flight of the T-50A configured aircraft which the company built in collaboration with Korea Aerospace Industries to compete for the U.S. Air Force’s T-X trainer jet program.
Lockheed said Thursday T-50A is designed to meet the Advanced Pilot Training competition requirements to help pilots navigate fifth generation fighter aircraft.
KAI and Lockheed built T-50A as a potential replacement for the Air Force’s T-38 trainer jet, ExecutiveBiz reported February 12.
Mark Ward, Lockheed T-50A lead test pilot, said KAI and Lockheed’s offering features a new cockpit and will work to align the service branch’s trainer fleet with what he called “fifth generation” fighter jets.
T-50A is based on KAI’s T-50 aircraft that has logged approximately 100,000 flight hours and trained more than 1,000 pilots, Lockheed noted.
The company added it is currently building the T-50A final assembly and checkout facility in Greenville, South Carolina.
A ground-based training system that accompanies T-50A works to provide a synchronized ground-based training platform, Lockheed noted.
