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.
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
