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Northrop AT-38B 'Talon'

Description
Notes: T-38A configured for weapons delivery training.
  Manufacturer:Northrop
  Base model:T-38
  Designation:AT-38
  Version:B
  Nickname:Talon
  Designation System:U.S. Air Force
  Designation Period:1948-Present
  Basic role:Trainer
  Modified Mission:Tactical support

Specifications
Not Yet Available

Operators (Past and Present)
USAF 12th FTW Randolph AFB TX
USAF 14th FTW Columbus AFB MS
USAF 46th TG Holloman AFB NM
USAF 49th FW Holloman AFB NM
USAF 80th FTW Sheppard AFB TX


 

Recent comments by our visitors
 Guy E. Franklin
 Ft George Meade, MD
The U.S. Air Force originally ordered the T-38A Talon in the 1950s as an advanced, supersonic flight trainer. The Talon's maneuverability also made it useful as a trainer, fighter lead-in, and as the first in a series of aggressor aircraft.

Before the Lead-in-Fighter Trainer (LIFT) program began in 1975, new pilots went directly from the T-38s they flew in Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) to the advanced fighters of an operational fighter squadron. The LIFT program reduced the training load on new pilots because they could learn fighter basics in a familiar aircraft. Also, since the AT-38B was much less expensive to operate than a fighter, the LIFT program reduced costs. The LIFT program ended in 1993 when the USAF incorporated this type of training into UPT.

Modified with a weapons pylon and a gunsight, the Talon became the AT-38B (LIFT). AT-38Bs could carry gun pods, rockets or practice bombs, and trainee pilots learned basic combat maneuvers and air-to-ground weapons delivery in them.

The USAF's relatively low air-to-air kill ratio in the Southeast Asia War led to the creation of the very successful "aggressor" air-to-air combat training program in 1973. Mimicking Soviet tactics, USAF aggressor pilots flew T-38As against other USAF fighter pilots flying frontline USAF fighters. In 1976 the similar, but more capable, Northrop F-5E began replacing the T-38A as the USAF's aggressor.

TECHNICAL NOTES:
Armament: Weapons pylon carrying a SUU-20 bomb/rocket dispenser, a SUU-11A/A 7.62mm gun pod, or an AF/B37K-1 bomb container
Engines: Two General Electric J85-GE-5A turbojets of 3,850 lbs. thrust each with afterburner
Maximum speed: 812 mph
Ceiling: 45,000 ft.

09/17/2007 @ 03:51 [ref: 17941]

 

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