T-38 trainers can now carry the AN/ALQ-188 jamming pod to make them “a more effective adversary” for the F-22 during simulated air combat exercises, according to a 12th Air Force release. On June 4, M1 Support Services contractors loaded the pod on a T-38 at Holloman AFB, N.M., marking “the first time” that “the T-38 has been modified to fit the ALQ-188 pod for use as a radar jammer,” states the June 5 release. The Air Force has been utilizing T-38s over the past several years as aggressor aircraft in F-22 training drills. T-38s operate alongside F-22s at Raptor bases including JB Langley-Eustis, Va., and Tyndall AFB, Fla. (Holloman report by A1C Daniel E. Liddicoet)
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
