NASA T-38 replacement planning is underway as the agency begins to evaluate options to succeed its long-serving Talon fleet used for astronaut training and chase duties. The move comes as sustainment challenges mount and the U.S. Air Force advances its own transition from the T-38 to the T-7A Red Hawk.
The Johnson Space Center in Houston issued a contracting notice seeking information from industry on potential successors to the T-38. Federal Aviation Administration records show NASA currently operates 25 Talons.
According to the notice, JSC is conducting market research to understand availability, capabilities, schedules, sustainment approaches, and cost effectiveness for modern high-performance jets that can support Spaceflight Readiness Training, or SFRT. With the Air Force planning to retire its T-38s between 2030 and 2035, NASA is assessing a transition to a more modern platform.
NASA’s T-38N variant is unique to the agency and differs from the Air Force’s T-38A/B/C models. While all are rooted in the original T-38A that entered Air Force service in 1961, NASA began receiving its aircraft in 1964 and has since incorporated multiple upgrades, including digital glass cockpits beginning in the 1990s.
A 2011 National Research Council report noted the T-38N added weather radar, a data link weather system, terrain and terminal collision avoidance systems, GPS with localizer performance and vertical guidance, and redesigned electrical, inlet, ejector nozzle, and flight management systems compared to contemporary C models.
The new notice states that NASA is seeking information on existing, production, or near-production high-performance jets that can support SFRT, without restricting responses to a particular performance class or design lineage.
NASA T-38 replacement requirements
The agency outlined desired characteristics for candidate aircraft, including:
- High reliability with established maintenance documentation
- Self-starting engine capability
- Performance comparable to a modern jet trainer or light fighter
- Ability to support dynamic maneuvering, formation flying, and cross-country navigation
- Dual-seat, dual-control configuration, either tandem or side-by-side
- Modern avionics compatible with instrument flight operations
- Single-pilot qualification from either seat is highly desired
Before any fleet transition, NASA plans a limited evaluation program with a small number of modern aircraft to assess compatibility, logistics, cost, and training impacts within JSC’s current operations. The agency anticipates evaluating a small number of aircraft over multiple years and is requesting information on procurement options such as lease, lease-to-own, barter, or other arrangements because of limited upfront funding.
NASA intends to retain responsibility for flight operations, while contractors would provide maintenance regardless of ownership. The agency indicated it is open to operating the aircraft within reasonable flight hour limits, maneuver restrictions, or operational envelopes consistent with contractor recommendations.
How far such limits could extend is not yet clear, given the need for high performance and maneuverability to meet SFRT, chase, and test support roles. A broad range of solutions appears to be on the table, including potential paths similar to the Air Force’s T-7A program.
Other trainers on the market include Korea Aerospace Industries’ T-50, a supersonic design previously offered in the United States through a partnership with Lockheed Martin and a former contender in the Air Force’s T-X competition.
Private firms that operate jet trainers for aggressor and training services could also be relevant. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman founded Draken International and has acquired multiple demilitarized fighters and trainers personally.
He drew attention with a July 4 flyover of Washington, D.C., in one of his privately owned F-5 Tiger II jets. Budget constraints may steer NASA toward creative arrangements or partnerships with the military services, similar to the way the agency acquired its first Talons in the 1960s.
Meanwhile, the T-7A program continues to face technical delays, pushing the Air Force’s initial operational capability target to August 2027 and a full-rate production decision to January 2029. That timeline raises questions about when NASA could obtain any T-7s.
SFRT demand is not expected to diminish. Training needs could expand with preparations for the Artemis program and a return to crewed lunar missions, with Artemis IV scheduled for 2028 as the first lunar landing attempt since Apollo 17 in 1972.
The new market research indicates NASA is still years from choosing a successor to the T-38N. The process has begun, and the agency is formally inviting industry to help chart the path forward.
This evaluation effort comes as other air forces pursue modernization, including India’s ongoing competition for a new fighter engine, which has drawn bids from major manufacturers such as Rolls-Royce and Safran.