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Trainer aircraftOperational
Advanced trainer
Northrop T-38 Talon is a advanced trainer originating in United States. It was built by Northrop Corporation. Reported operators include United States Air Force United States Navy NASA Turkish Air Force.
United StatesNorthrop T-38 Talon
U.S. Department of Defense · Public domain · Resized · Public domain · Source ↗ · ModifiedAdvanced trainer
United States
Northrop Corporation
Operational
United States Air Force United States Navy NASA Turkish Air Force
1,187
1961–1972
17 March 1961
10 April 1959
Northrop N-156
Northrop F-5
2
46 ft 4.5 in (14.135 m)
25 ft 3 in (7.70 m)
12 ft 10.5 in (3.924 m)
170 sq ft (16 m 2 )
7,200 lb (3,266 kg)
11,820 lb (5,361 kg)
12,093 lb (5,485 kg)
2 × General Electric J85-5A afterburning turbojet engines, 2,680 lbf (11.9 kN) thrust each dry, 3,850 lbf (17.1 kN) with afterburner
746 kn (858 mph, 1,382 km/h)
991 nmi (1,140 mi, 1,835 km)
50,000 ft (15,000 m)
33,600 ft/min (171 m/s)
69.53 lb/sq ft (339.5 kg/m 2 )
0.65
Propulsion: (2) J85-GE-5 turbojet engines each producing 2,900 pounds (1,315 kilograms) of thrust with afterburners.
Length: 46 feet, 4 1/2 inches (14 meters).
Wingspan: 25 feet, 3 inches (7.6 meters).
Height: 12 feet, 10 1/2 inches (3.8 meters).
Weight: Max. gross, take-off: 12,500 pounds (5,670 kilograms). Airspeed: 812 mph (Mach 1.08 at sea level).
Ceiling: 55,000+ feet (16,667 meters).
Range: Max. 1,000 miles (870 nautical miles).
Reference text from Wikipedia contributors, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
True scale
Sourced dimensions beside a 1.75 m human reference.
Points represent sourced observations, including revisions. Revisions on the same effective date are not separate inventory events. Ranges appear in the table and are not plotted as exact points.
| Observation / report period | Value | Source | Claim state |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Sept 2026 | 14 m | www.navair.navy.mil | superseded |
| 28 Sept 2026 | 14 m | www.navair.navy.mil | superseded |
| 28 Sept 2026 | 14 m | www.navair.navy.mil | superseded |
| 28 Sept 2026 | 14 m | www.navair.navy.mil | superseded |
| 28 Sept 2026 | 14 m | www.navair.navy.mil | approved |
| 28 Sept 2026 | 14 m | www.navair.navy.mil | superseded |
| 28 Sept 2026 | 14 m | www.navair.navy.mil | superseded |
Northrop T-38 Talon equipment records. Variants, orders and quantities are shown as reported in each inventory source; coverage is incomplete.
GermanyAir Force exact named equipment holdings: T-38C Talon. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: AIRCRAFT / TRG. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
Reported count for Northrop T-38 · T-38C. Service scope: Current fleet of the German Air Force; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Excludes retired/reserve/on-order rows. Count column(s): in service: 46. Origin: United States. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. The components do not establish one inventory census date; the stored date is the retrieved source snapshot.
TürkiyeReported count for T-38 Talon · T-38M. Service scope: Turkish Air Force aircraft; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Retired, wholly reserve and on-order rows are excluded; the reported count retains any explicitly mixed stock scope in the quoted row. Count column(s): in service: 68. Origin: United States. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. Dates are the count-cell citations' stated source period (2025), not the article revision. 2025 cited publication year. Edition or publication years do not claim an exact inventory census day.
United StatesNaval Aviation exact named equipment holdings: T-38C Talon. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: AIRCRAFT / TRG. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
United States Air Force United States Navy NASA Turkish Air Force
Equipment reference ↗Reported count for T-38A/C/AT-38B Talon. Service scope: Air Force; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Retired, wholly reserve and on-order rows are excluded; the reported count retains any explicitly mixed stock scope in the quoted row. Count column(s): inventory: 495. Origin: USA. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. Dates are the count-cell citations' stated source period (2025), not the article revision. Cited source 2025-06-20. Edition or publication years do not claim an exact inventory census day.
Reported count for T-38 Talon · T-38C. Service scope: United States Navy; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Excludes retired/reserve/on-order rows. Count column(s): in service: 10. Origin: United States. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. Dates are the count-cell citations' stated source period (2023), not the article revision. 2023 cited source edition. Edition or publication years do not claim an exact inventory census day.