T
he first two of 15 former South Korean T-38 trainer aircraft have arrived at Holloman AFB, N.M., for regeneration to operational status and use as aggressor aircraft in F-22 training drills at JB Langley, Va., and Tyndall AFB, Fla. “The addition of these T-38s will dramatically increase the combat capability of our F-22 pilots,” said Lt. Col. Derek Wyler, Langley’s T-38 adversary air program lead. Plus, USAF officials say the T-38s will be affordable to operate in this role. The 15 T-38s returned to the United States from South Korea in November 2009 and have been sitting at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., since. M1 Support Services will overhaul them at Holloman. The first seven rebuilt T-38s will be assigned to Langley; the others are destined for basing at Tyndall. NASA is using a modified, wide-bodied cargo aircraft to bring the T-38s to Holloman, two at a time. All 15 T-38s are slated be at Holloman in February. (Holloman report by SrA. Sondra Escutia)
The Air Force is on track to reach its annual goal of graduating 1,500 new pilots that had proved elusive to this point, one year after the service launched a sweeping overhaul of its undergraduate pilot training program, Air Education and Training Command said Sept. 14.
