At the end of last month Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) was awarded an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract to build wings for the Northrop T-38C Talons in service with the U.S. Air Force. Worth $240 million, the work will be performed by IAI’s Lahav aerostructures business, part of the Aviation Group at Lod.
Managed by the Air Force Sustainment Center at Hill AFB, Utah, the contract is due to deliver wing sets through 2033. IAI first started building wings for the T-38 in 2011 and won this latest contract in competition with three other bidders. IAI Lahav also builds wings for the Lockheed Martin F-16 and F-35 programs.
The T-38 supersonic advanced trainer officially entered U.S. Air Force service in its original T-38A form in March 1961, and nearly 1,200 had been built by the time production came to an end in 1972—mostly for the U.S. but also for export customers such as West Germany and Turkey. In the 2000s most were upgraded to T-38C standard with structural and avionics upgrades, including the installation of a glass cockpit.
The T-X program to replace the T-38 was repeatedly postponed in favor of more pressing requirements until the Boeing/Saab T-7A Red Hawk was selected in September 2018. The T-7A is not scheduled to reach IOC until 2023/24, and full implementation of the contracted 351 aircraft will take many more years. Rewinging the T-38 fleet—which currently numbers around 500 aircraft—is necessary to allow it to meet training requirements until the T-7A can fully replace it.