Airbus Defence and Space (DS) has revealed a new advanced jet trainer (AJT) design that it is pitching at the Spanish Air Force’s (Ejército del Aire Español: EdAE) lead-in fighter trainer (LIFT) requirements.
Airbus revealed a new LIFT trainer aircraft on 16 October, named AFJT, which it is pitching at the Spanish Air Force. (Airbus)
Revealed on 16 October, the Airbus Future Jet Trainer (AFJT) is a single-engined twin-seat design that is geared at replacing the EdAE’s ageing CASA C101 and Northrop F-5 Tiger II trainer platforms (though it should be noted that the air force has previously selected the Pilatus PC-21 turboprop as its C101 replacement).
“The AFJT is a programme designed by and for Spain, which is positioned as the operational, industrial and technological development solution that would allow the country to continue with its position as the main actor in the aerospace and defence sector,” the company said. “The conception and design of the AFJT is based on the pillars of safety, economy, simplicity and reliability.”
As noted by Airbus, the AFJT is to be equipped with a state-of-the-art avionics suite that builds on the EdAE’s previous experience with the F-5, Boeing EF-18 Hornet and Eurofighter. It would also provide the base for a student pilot’s transition to the ‘sixth-generation’ New Generation Fighter (NGF) that Spain is developing alongside France and Germany as part of the wider Future Combat Air System (FCAS).
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