The T-38 Talon is a twinjet supersonic jet trainer produced by American aerospace and defense company Northrop Grumman, and it first flew in 1959. The company built 1,187 T-38 twinjet trainer aircraft, and more than 72,000 USAF pilots have flown the T-38 since it entered service in 1961 when it was the world's first supersonic trainer. The aircraft was developed as a supersonic trainer to prepare pilots for high-performance fighter jets, and it quickly proved to be an effective platform for advanced flight training.
The T-38 Talon has a slender fuselage with a low-mounted, swept-wing design. Its powerful twin engines are mounted at the base of the wing, and it has a retractable landing gear. The T-38 has a top speed of Mach 1.3 and a service ceiling of 55,000 feet, making it one of the fastest and highest-flying trainer aircraft in the world.