Scott Nicholas
The Lockheed Martin-built T-50A aircraft has flown its 100th sortie at a facility in Greenville, South Carolina.
Lockheed said Wednesday that the milestone represents the company’s dedication to meet requirements for the U.S. Air Force Advanced Pilot Training Competition.
“This particular flight in TX-2, included simulated air-to-air engagements, simulated air-to-surface attacks, and instrument proficiency training,” said Elliott Clemence, a test pilot for Lockheed Martin.
“We’ve met the U.S. Air Force flight test requirements for the proposal, however our flight operations team continues to produce a regular rhythm of sorties to keep the pilots proficient, the aircraft operational and ensure we’re prepared to ramp up operations on day one of a decision,” said Doug Batista, program director for the T-50A.
The company plans to enter the T-50A for the APT competition alongside an accompanying ground-based training system which features technologies that offer synchronized ground-based training capacities.
Lockheed noted that the T-50A will look to help train future F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II pilots.
