Retirement is near for the Air Force’s primary transport trainer jet. On Tuesday, the last T-1A Jayhawk departed Laughlin AFB for the boneyard at David Monthan Air Force Base marking completion of the divestiture of the fleet for the base. Now only the T-6A Texan II and T-38 Talon remain at the base. Now Randolph Air Force base (JBSA) and Laughlin AFB have retired their T-1As. By the end of this fiscal year, all remaining T-1A Jayhawks will be retired, marking the end of an era.
End of An Era For The T-1A Jayhawk and SUPT Pilot Training
The T-1A Jayhawk first entered service in 1992 at the now closed Reece Air Force Base. The slightly modified Beech 400A jet began training students in 1993 as part of an overhaul of Air Force pilot training. Prior to the introduction of the T-1A, all student pilots flew both the T-37 (later the T-6A Texan II) and T-38 jet before being assigned to a fighter, transport, or helicopter track.
The T-1A Jayhawk became a critical component of the revised Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training (SUPT) program. In phase III, students tracked to transport aircraft would hone their skills in advanced navigation, crew resource management, heavy formation low levels, and the basics of air refueling. Thousands of pilots flew the T-1A Jayhawk enroute to the cockpit of jets like the C-17A Globemaster III, KC-135 Stratotanker, C-130 Hercules, and C-5 Galaxy.
Students selected for the fighter track will continue to train in the supersonic T-38 Talon. The delayed Boeing T-7 Red Hawk will eventually replace the T-38 later this decade.
No Replacement for the Trainer Transport Jet
Another transport trainer aircraft will not replace the T-1A Jayhawk. Instead, the Air Force has reworked pilot training for students assigned to transport aircraft.As part of the transition to Pilot Training 2.5, students now utilize advanced virtual reality simulator training and have added transport-focused lesson like crew resource management to the syllabus. All training for transport tracked pilots will take place in the T-6A Texan II.
