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 Air Force needs a high-end aircraft that can operate in contested environments that will work with the service’s new Collaborative Combat Aircraft semi-autonomous drones and other less pricey platforms, the service's officer said March 18. “Instead of going all high-end and then breaking the bank and not being able…