The U.S. Air Force has announced plans to adopt the future T-X Advanced Pilot Trainer platform as replacement for the T-38C Talon aircraft used to train undergraduate pilots.The Air Force said Wednesday it picked Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph in Texas as the service branch’s preferred location to house the first T-X aircraft slated to arrive sometime in 2022.
“As we bring the T-X training aircraft into service, we’ll base them at our current undergraduate pilot training bases which have the airspace and runways needed for the mission,” said Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, a 2018 Wash100 recipient.
The branch intends to conduct environmental analyses at all undergraduate pilot locations throughout the country to support final basing decisions.
The Air Force said it aims to award the T-X contract this year.
