Small Wars Journal

Air Force’s New Trainer Jet Could Become its Next Light-Attack or Aggressor Aircraft

Thu, 03/07/2019 - 9:52am

Air Force’s New Trainer Jet Could Become its Next Light-Attack or Aggressor Aircraft by Valerie Insinna - Defense News

The U.S. Air Force’s new T-X jets could be more than just trainers, with aggressor or light-attack missions now on the table for the Boeing-made plane, the head of Air Combat Command said Thursday.

 

Although buying new T-X trainers to replace the more than 50-year-old T-38 fleet still remains a top priority for that program, the service is beginning to explore whether the T-X could be procured for other uses, Gen. Mike Holmes said at the Air Force Association’s Air Warfare Symposium.

 

“You could imagine a version of the airframe that could be equipped as a light fighter. You can imagine a version that is equipped as an adversary air-training platform,” he told reporters during a roundtable…

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