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Lockheed inaugurates T-50A ground-training facility

Doors open at Lockheed Martin ground-training facility for T-50A aircraft.

By Richard Tomkins
The T-50A trainer/light attack aircraft developed by Lockheed Martin and Korea Aerospace Industries. Photo courtesy Lockheed Martin
The T-50A trainer/light attack aircraft developed by Lockheed Martin and Korea Aerospace Industries. Photo courtesy Lockheed Martin

GREENVILLE, S.C., Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin has inaugurated its ground-based training facility for the T-50A advanced trainer and light attack aircraft being offered to the U.S. Air Force.

The Advanced Pilot Training facility is located in Greenville, S.C. It is housed in a refurbished building and features tooling and manufacturing equipment to complete final assembly and flight operations for the T-50A trainer aircraft as well as Lockheed's T-50A Ground Based Training System.

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"From the innovation of our Skunk Works team in Palmdale, California -- who brought this program to life -- to the employees in Greenville who will build the T-50A, the brightest minds and the latest technology have been brought together in this facility to provide the U.S. Air Force with a low-risk, highly capable aircraft and training solution," said Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Executive Vice President Orlando Carvalho.

The T-50A was developed jointly by Lockheed Martin and Korea Aerospace Industries. It builds upon the proven heritage of the T-50, of which more than 150 are flying around the world today.

The T-50A is a supersonic trainer with a maximum speed of more than 1,000 miles per hour, a range of more than 1,150 miles and a service ceiling of 48,000 feet. In addition to its rotary cannon the aircraft can be armed with bombs and missiles.

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It is being offered by the company for the U.S. Air Force's T-X trainer program.

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