It’s called the P5 Combat Training System, and it’s purpose is to provide “rangeless operation and real-time monitoring,” according to officials at Eglin AFB, Fla. The P5 eliminates the guesswork for a range training officer, enabling the RTO to “provide real-time feedback to the pilots on how to improve a particular engagement and have them repeat it if necessary,” said project manager Maj. Scott Foreman. The pod records and can relay time, space, and position and provide real-time kill notification. Eglin expects to complete flight-testing this month.
The crash of a T-38 trainer jet this May—which caused a weekslong pause in flights across the fleet—was caused by an improperly installed pin for one of the jet’s horizontal stabilizers, according to a new accident report released Oct. 30. When the pin disengaged midflight, it created the slightest amount…