{"id":32618,"date":"2019-04-29T11:22:09","date_gmt":"2019-04-29T11:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/04\/29\/could-boeings-t-x-become-the-b-2-bombers-new-companion-trainer\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:43:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:43:49","slug":"could-boeings-t-x-become-the-b-2-bombers-new-companion-trainer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/04\/29\/could-boeings-t-x-become-the-b-2-bombers-new-companion-trainer\/","title":{"rendered":"Could Boeing\u2019s T-X become the B-2 bomber\u2019s new companion trainer?"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-smg-jwplayer-video\"><atype-video-jwplayer nostick=\"true\" playlisturl=\"https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/v2\/playlists\/fCzRqMW8?tags=57c6894d-6229-43c3-999c-a8fe9acb7452\" poster=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/video-poster-57c6894d-6229-43c3-999c-a8fe9acb7452.jpg\" aspectratio=\"16 \/ 9\" mute autostart=\"false\"><\/atype-video-jwplayer><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">One of the most difficult aerial maneuvers the B-2 does is to refuel in mid-air. Find out how that happens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. \u2014 By the mid 2020s, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/afa-air-space\/2019\/03\/06\/air-forces-new-trainer-jet-could-become-its-next-light-attack-or-aggressor-aircraft\/\" target=_blank>Boeing\u2019s new T-X trainer<\/a> will begin to replace the aging T-38s flown by fighter and bomber pilots going through advanced training. But the U.S. Air Force hasn\u2019t decided whether to buy enough T-X jets to replace the T-38s used to supplement flying hours for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2019\/02\/12\/us-should-update-nuclear-warheads-over-their-delivery-systems-says-dod-official\/\" target=_blank>B-2 stealth bomber. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, the T-38 is flown regularly by B-2 bomber pilots as practice for basic flying fundamentals. Only 21 B-2s were ever built, and the plane requires intensive maintenance, making training in the T-38 an imperative for keeping up pilots\u2019 flight currencies and for cutting costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/training-sim\/2018\/04\/20\/half-the-b-2-fleet-was-flying-above-minneapolis-and-heres-why\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"193\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/160514-Z-NI803-232.JPG.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Half the B-2 fleet was flying above Minneapolis, and here\u2019s why<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Why did half the B-2 nuclear bomber fleet gather above an American city?<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whiteman\u2019s 13th Bomb Squadron owns 14 T-38s, said Capt. Keenan Kunst, spokesman for the 509th Bomb Wing. Those training jets are \u201cgenerally about 50 years old,\u201d with the oldest of the planes built in 1964, the officer added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But despite the T-38\u2019s age, there are no plans to replace Air Force Global Strike Command\u2019s T-38s with the T-X, said Uriah Orland, an AFGSC spokesman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To further complicate matters, the Air Force is grappling with the size and shape of its future bomber force. Last year, it announced it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/federal-budget\/2018\/02\/12\/air-force-requests-1563-billion-in-fy19-plans-to-retire-b-1-b-2-fleets\/\" target=_blank>would retire its B-1B and B-2 bombers by the mid 2030s <\/a>as the new B-21 Raider was fielded. However, new analysis by the service and other think tanks indicated that the Air Force will need far more bombers than previously projected, putting existing plans in question.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/03\/20\/what-aircraft-does-the-us-air-force-need-to-beat-china-and-russia-this-new-study-has-an-answer\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/B-21_ocean.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">What aircraft does the US Air Force need to beat China and Russia? This new study has an answer.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The future looks stealthy and unmanned.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During an April roundtable with reporters, Gen. Timothy Ray, head of Air Force Global Strike Command, said the service\u2019s course of action is to wait and see rather than draw up a new bomber road map.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI agree philosophically with the need to grow,\u201d he said. \u201cMy job, right now as I see it, is to keep as many options on the table as I possibly can. The real decisions about the change in the bomber footprint, those are going to happen well after my time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/global-strike\/\"><i><b>Click here for more from the special report on the U.S. nuclear enterprise. <\/b><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This uncertainty about the B-2\u2032s future \u2014 and thus the future of the T-38 as its companion trainer \u2014 doesn\u2019t seem to be much of a problem, at least in the short term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kunst said that mission-capable rates for the aircraft are \u201cgenerally good\u201d and that it \u201cperforms its role well\u201d as a companion trainer for the B-2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe age of the aircraft does present issues, as some parts simply are not made any more,\u201d he acknowledged. \u201cHowever, the Team Whiteman T-38A maintenance professionals meet these challenges and keep these aircraft flying, meeting the needs of our B-2 schoolhouse. As far as I know, the T-38 remains one of the safest supersonic aircraft of all time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The vast majority of students learning to fly the B-2 at Whitman are seasoned pilots with years of flying experience in other platforms, including the T-38. However, the Air Force has accepted new pilots directly from undergraduate pilot training on two occasions, the last time in 2005, Kunst said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those pilots will spend \u201cabout two and a half years\u201d in the T-38 \u201cbefore they ever touch a B-2,\u201d said Maj. Kyle Harrington, a T-38 and B-2 instructor pilot at the 13th Bomb Squadron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The B-2 and T-38 couldn\u2019t be further apart in terms of the aircraft\u2019s composition and purpose \u2014 and that\u2019s kind of the point, Harrington said in an interview with journalist and Defense News contributor<a href=\"https:\/\/jeffbolton.org\/about\/\" target=_blank> Jeff Bolton<\/a> during a visit to Whiteman AFB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe B-2 [is a] highly advanced, highly automated airplane,\u201d Harrington said. Meanwhile, there\u2019s \u201cnot a single computer\u201d in the T-38. \u201cThat\u2019s why we fly it, though, because it\u2019s all stick, rudder, throttle. It keeps our skills, as far as flying, up to speed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During a B-2 flight, the pilot\u2019s full concentration must be on the bomber\u2019s mission computers and sensors that provide important cues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFlying has almost got to be secondary and natural,\u201d Harrington said. Because the T-38 is \u201cpretty difficult to fly,\u201d it ensures that basic flying skills don\u2019t atrophy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A trained B-2 pilot will spend anywhere from 10-15 hours flying the B-2 in a month, with about six additional hours in the T-38 cockpit, Kunst said. Pilots still going through the schoolhouse spend more time flying the T-38.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So far, the Air Force has committed to buying 351 T-X jets for Air Education and Training Command\u2019s requirements. However, its contract with Boeing includes options that could <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/breaking-news\/2018\/09\/27\/reuters-air-force-awards-9b-contract-to-boeing-for-next-training-jet\/\" target=\"_blank\">bring the total order up to 475 aircraft<\/a>, creating an easy lever for the Air Force to pull if it decides to buy new T-Xs for Air Force Global Strike Command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Air Force Global Strike Command decides to replace the T-38, the T-X will be seen as \u201cfar and away\u201d the best choice due to its modern avionics and cockpit, said Rebecca Grant, a military analyst with IRIS Independent Research. That might enable the B-2 pilots to do more of their tactical training in the B-2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOf course, the main function of the T-38s is to keep flying skills fresh, and T-X will do that well also, but the T-X will have that fifth-gen cockpit feel, and that will be of extra value to the B-2 community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another advantage is the inherent safety of moving to a newer airframe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCommanders won\u2019t be worrying about an ancient aircraft at the base with a very precious crew force. I think the load off the wing commander\u2019s mind will be significant when that comes along,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Defense News partnered with <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/jeffbolton.org\/about\/\" target=\"_blank\"><i>independent journalist and long-time radio personality Jeff Bolton<\/i><\/a><i> for <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/global-strike\/\" target=\"_blank\"><i>a multimedia report<\/i><\/a><i> that takes an up-close look at the U.S. nuclear enterprise by way of Bolton\u2019s exclusive flights on military strike platforms and interviews with the leadership and military staff that support nuclear operations and missions. <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Right now there are no plans to replace Air Force Global Strike Command&#8217;s T-38s with new T-X jets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":72361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":7,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[7,160,116,36,30],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3384],"class_list":["post-32618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global-strike","category-newsletters","category-smr"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"SAAQAZRFQVARJLCJKRKGBBBR54","arc_canonical_url":"\/air\/2019\/04\/29\/could-boeings-t-x-become-the-b-2-bombers-new-companion-trainer\/","remove_feature_photo":true,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Could Boeing\u2019s T-X become the B-2 bomber\u2019s new companion trainer? - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Right now there are no plans to replace Air Force Global Strike Command&#039;s T-38s with new T-X jets.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Could Boeing\u2019s T-X become the B-2 bomber\u2019s new companion trainer?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Right now there are no plans to replace Air Force Global Strike Command&#039;s T-38s with new T-X jets.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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