Lockheed T-50A completes first flight
Lockheed Martin has successfully completed the first test flight of the T-50A, its proposed aircraft for the US Air Force Advanced Pilot Training (APT) programme, it announced on 2 June.
Lockheed Martin is touting the T-50A as low risk and available solution for the programme. The aircraft is builds on the T-50 with its 100,000 flight hours and more than 1,000 pilots trained.
The company is currently setting up its final assembly and checkout site for the T-50A in Greenville, South Carolina.
Mark Ward, T-50A lead test pilot, Lockheed Martin, said: 'The aircraft in its new configuration with the 5th Gen cockpit and other upgrades performed flawlessly. I have no doubt this aircraft will close the gap which currently exists between the trainer fleet and 5th Generation fighters.'
The T-50A was jointed developed with Korea Aerospace Industries as a replacement for the T-38 to train pilots to fly fifth-generation aircraft and eliminate fifth-generation training gaps and inefficiencies.
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