Air Force orders operational pause for all T-38 Talon aircraft

The Air Force has ordered an operational pause for all T-38 Talon aircraft following a crash last week, the service announced Tuesday.

The pause affects all units: Air Education and Training Command, Air Combat Command, Air Force Materiel Command and Air Force Global Strike Command.

This pause in flight operations allows an ongoing safety board to continue investigating a May 12, 2026, T-38 mishap involving an aircraft assigned to Columbus Air Force Base, Miss.

The duration of the pause will be determined by further engineering analysis and development of an inspection process to clear aircraft for a safe return to flight. Inspections should begin as early as this week. Individual aircraft may resume flying operations once the inspection process and, if necessary, any corresponding maintenance actions are complete, the Air Force said.

This operational pause strictly applies to the T-38 Talon fleet.

Versions of the T-38 have been used as the Air Force’s primary jet training aircraft since the 1960s, and the service claims more than 70,000 pilots have trained using the plane.

The T-7A Red Hawk will replace the Air Force Air Education and Training Command’s T-38 Talon aircraft in 2027. The Talon, which first flew in 1959, is widely recognized as the world’s first supersonic jet trainer.