JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In a notable example of interservice collaboration, the first U.S. Air Force T-38 Talon trainer aircraft arrived at the Navy’s Fleet Readiness Center Southeast (FRCSE) . The jet is the inaugural inductee into a new production line here dedicated to the Air Force’s Talon Repair, Inspection, and Maintenance (TRIM) program.
The TRIM program is a critical fleet-wide initiative designed to inspect and replace key structural components on the venerable T-38s, with the goal of extending their operational service life by five to ten years. Facing a significant workload, the Air Force’s T-38 Program Office approached FRCSE last August to explore the depot’s capacity to share a portion of the repairs.
“When the Air Force asked us if we could support working on their T-38s, our team took a hard look at it and agreed we could assist,” said Capt. Mike Windom, FRCSE commanding officer. “Taking on this workload is another testament to our workforce’s commitment to doing whatever it takes to support our nation’s warfighters.”
This request launched a rapid, intensive stand-up effort. For the past 15 months, a cross-functional team of more than 160 FRCSE personnel—from engineers and logisticians to production artisans—has worked to acquire technical data, fabricate specialized support equipment, and gain necessary qualifications. The command’s prior expertise on the structurally similar F-5 Tiger II provided a significant advantage, though teams noted important distinctions between the two airframes.
“We discovered that while the F-5 and T-38 share similarities, they can also differ significantly, which requires us to be cautious to avoid confusion,” explained Steve Clayton, FRCSE’s F-5/T-38 ground check supervisor.
In October, Naval Air Systems Command formally designated FRCSE as a secondary Depot Source of Repair for the T-38, authorizing the work. The arrival of the first aircraft marks the culmination of these preparations.
“There’s been a lot of work put into getting to this point,” said Paul Skinner, an FRCSE business management specialist. “We submitted over 180 pieces of support equipment to be made from scratch to ensure our artisans have the right tools.”
The Air Force aims to perform the TRIM package on its entire fleet of approximately 270 T-38s by 2030. FRCSE is now part of that enterprise solution.
“FRCSE is going to take on a portion of those aircraft inductions to help them reach that goal,” Skinner added. The depot plans to induct a second T-38 later this year, with the production line ultimately building to a steady state of six aircraft annually.
