Two Lockheed Martin T-50A aircraft soared together in the skies over Greenville, South Carolina. The inaugural Feb. 20 flight of the second production-ready T-50A from Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Pilot Training (APT) operations center in Greenville demonstrates the company’s reputable, lowest-risk offering in the U.S. Air Force’s T-X competition.
In February 2016, Lockheed Martin declared its plan to present the T-50A in the APT competition and build the aircraft at a final assembly and checkout facility in Greenville. Lockheed Martin officially unveiled its T-50A FACO and operations center in August 2016.
The T-50A is ready on day one of contract award and is purpose-built around 5th Generation thinking. It will train the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II pilots, as well as pilots for frontline 4th Generation aircraft. The low risk T-50A builds upon the proven heritage of the T-50 with more than 150 T-50s flying today – 200,000 flight hours and counting – and more than 1,800 pilots who have trained in this aircraft.
Lockheed Martin’s accompanying T-50A Ground-Based Training System features modern technologies that deliver an immersive, matched ground-based training platform. The T-50A team also brings wide experience in outstanding, worldwide logistics support.
