Lockheed Martin’s entrant for the T-X program has been flying regularly around its new facility in South Carolina as the company tries to press the T-50A as a reliable aircraft for future Air Force training. The newest of the two T-50As built by Lockheed, the T-X2, has flown eight sorties for about eight flight hours of total flying time at a range near Greenville, S.C., test pilot Mark Ward said Tuesday. These include a basic functional check flight, and a series of sorties meant to show off the plane to visitors and to check out a training range at the Snowbird military operations area. Lockheed’s entry is based on the Korean Aerospace Industries T-50 Golden Eagle, and first flew in South Carolina last month. Lockheed has said the T-50 will have 80 percent commonality with the F-16’s design, and 70 percent commonality of parts. Lockheed, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon are all in the running to build the next trainer for the Air Force, with a contract award expected next year and initial operating capability expected in 2024. The Air Force wants 350 of the aircraft and a high-fidelity simulator system, all bought and operated for $1 billion per year over 20 years.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.