Aggressive, Not Aggressor

The new T-X trainer’s requirements don’t call for it to be used as a future “Aggressor”-type aircraft, Air Education and Training Command requirements chief Brig. Gen. Dawn Dunlop told Air Force Magazine. Dunlop said AETC has incorporated into T-X the requirements of USAF major commands that now use the T-38 as a “companion trainer;” a function it performs for the B-2 and F-22 communities, but “we are not buying … a companion trainer.” When new companion trainers are required, the T-X should meet those needs, she said. AETC is “focusing on the advanced training” needs of the service for fighter/bomber pilots and not a future “Red Air” role for the jet. At this time, “there is no requirement for an Aggressor-type aircraft,” she added. That said, “I hope we have built into our requirements the adaptability” that would allow the T-X to be applied to other, “future missions.” Also, while the foreign military sales potential of the aircraft is not among program requirements, Dunlop said there is a strong international market for such an aircraft, which is likely one of the reasons industry is so keenly interested in T-X.