“Gentlemen, the jets you are flying against are smaller, faster, and more maneuverable, just like the enemy MiGs”

You remember Jester’s words in the Top Gun movie, and it looks like that training principle still applies today. A recent article on strategypage.com talks about the Air Force using their T-38C’s as aggressors to fly in mock engagements against F-22’s for F-22 pilot training.

It makes perfect sense. The T-38 is one of the cheapest jets to operate and the fact that it’s such a small target makes it a challenge for even the hottest F-22 pilot to target and hit.

The T-38 has a long history of training with the Air Force. For 47 years (almost half a century!), the T-38 has been the premier advanced jet trainer and will be receiving additional structural and electronic upgrades to keep the Air Force’s fleet of over 400 T-38’s flying and they won’t be retiring anytime soon.

Also, the T-38’s close cousin, the F-5, is still in operation by the Navy and Marines for aggressor training. As a lot of you know, I flew F-5’s for two years with Marine Adversaries (VMFT-401 “Snipers”) at MCAS Yuma.

The F-5 and the T-38 are almost identical with the same flying characteristics, and I can personally vouch for this airframe’s capability as a great trainer and aggressor aircraft.

You may also be flying this airframe at some point in your career (especially if you’re going into the Air Force, as it will be part of your training), so don’t go thinking that just because that this is an old airframe that it is beneath you or ready for the scrap heap.

Trust me; those instructors flying the T-38 will be running circles around the students flying F-22’s in the beginning. Just because something is old doesn’t mean you throw it away.

What are some of the virtues that you see in older airframes like the F-5, A-4, or even the F-15 or F-16 as opposed to the F-22 or F-35? What do you see as potential strengths and weaknesses of both the old and the new?