Northrop Grumman TX
| Northrop Grumman TX (Model 400) |
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|---|---|
| Type: | Prototype of a jet trainer |
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| Number of pieces: |
1 |
The Northrop Grumman TX (also Scaled Composites Model 400) is the prototype of a supersonic trainer aircraft. With the plane Northrop Grumman participated in the TX program of the US Air Force , in which a successor to the T-38 Talon was sought.
The US Air Force has been using the T-38 Talon for pilot training since the 1960s. Since the end of their service life is foreseeable after more than 50 years, despite modernization, the Air Education and Training Command (AETC) started procurement of a successor model in 2003. Northrop first entered into a partnership with BAE Systems , L-3 Communications and Rolls-Royce in 2014 to adapt the Hawk T2 / 128 to the requirements of the US Air Force. With a similar concept, McDonnell Douglas was already successful in the 1980s when the Hawk 60 was adapted for the US Navy , resulting in the T-45 Goshawk . However, Northrop rejected the concept again in 2015 and decided to develop a completely separate model for the TX program.
On August 19, 2016, Northrop Grumman presented the prototype at Mojave Airport . The prototype built by the Scaled Composites subsidiary is visually similar to the T-38 Talon, but is designed as a single-jet machine. Here was turbofan engine General Electric F404 -102D installed that already for the T-50 Golden Eagle is used. In September 2018, the US Department of Defense announced that it had chosen the competing product from Boeing / SAAB.
Web links
- Photo and development history (accessed August 31, 2016)
Individual evidence
- ^ Northrop TX prototype revealed on Mojave runway. Flight Global, August 20, 2016, accessed August 22, 2016 .