The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twin jet supersonic jet trainer designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Northrop Corporation. It was the world's first supersonic trainer as well as the most produced.

The T-38 can be traced back to 1952 and Northrop's N-102 Fang and N-156 fighter aircraft projects. During the mid-1950s, Northrop officials decided to adapt the N-156 to suit a recently issued general operating requirement by the United States Air Force (USAF) for a supersonic trainer to replace the Lockheed T-33. The bid was successful, in no small part on its lower lifecycle cost comparisons to competing aircraft, and the company received an initial order to build three prototypes. The first of these, designated YT-38, made its maiden flight on April 10th, 1959. The T-38 was introduced to USAF service on March 17th, 1961.

The USAF is the largest operator of the T-38. Additional operators of the T-38 include NASA and the United States Navy. U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland, is the principal US Navy operator. Other T-38s were previously used by the US Navy for dissimilar air combat training until replaced by the similar Northrop F-5 Tiger II. Pilots of other NATO nations have commonly flown the T-38 during joint training programs with American pilots. The T-38 remains in service as of 2023 with several air forces. As of 2023, the T-38 has been in service for over 60 years with the USAF, its original operator. In September 2018, USAF announced the replacement of the Talon by the Boeing-Saab T-7 Red Hawk with phaseout to begin in 2023.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a NASA Northrop T-38C Talon jet trainer that was deployed to Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base, Texas, during 2020. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 4-1/4-inches
Length: 7-3/4-inches

Release Date: May 2024

Historical Account: "Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base" - Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base is a joint installation shared by various active component and reserve component military units, as well as aircraft flight operations of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under the aegis of the nearby Johnson Space Center. The host wing for the installation is the Texas Air National Guard's 147th Attack Wing (147 ATKW). Opened in 1917, Ellington Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I. It is named for First Lieutenant Eric Ellington, a U.S. Army aviator who was killed in a plane crash in San Diego, California in 1913.

From the 1950s through the 1970s, Ellington Field was utilized for pilot and navigator training for the active Air Force, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard, and Naval Air Reserve, Marine Air Reserve, and foreign students.

NASA established its facilities at Ellington as its base for astronaut flight proficiency training and specialized aircraft training in the early 1960s because of its proximity to the newly constructed Manned Spacecraft Center. T-38 Talon (T-38N) aircraft bailed from USAF and assigned NASA civilian registration numbers are the primary jet aircraft used for astronaut training at Ellington. From 1967, Ellington was used for the Apollo program's Lunar Landing Training Vehicle. Today, most of NASA's aircraft such as the T-38s, RB-57s, C-9s, and other aircraft based at the Johnson Space (Manned Spacecraft) Center are kept and maintained at the base.