Vehicle I-D: USN Goshawk T-45

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Connor Loessin, 20JAN2020.

The U.S. Navy (USN) is currently testing its new Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG), and the venerable T-45 Goshawk is one of the guinea pigs.

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Zack Guth, 18JAN2020.

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Connor Loessin, 20JAN2020.

USN video, Goshawk touch-n-go (wait for it) aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), 18JAN2020:

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Jesus O. Aguiar, 18JAN2020.

The T-45 is now an old plane, its origins go back to the 1970s British empire Hawk trainer. The USN asked for a navalized version and began using it in 1991, calling it the T-45 Goshawk.

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Zachary Melvin, 18JAN2020.

USN video, fueling the Goshawk, take-off & landing aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), 18JAN2020:

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Jesus O. Aguiar, 18JAN2020.

Interestingly, model kit builders were able to get a Goshawk before the USN officially started using it. In 1989, Italeri (eh-taal-ery) began selling 1:72 scale kits of the T-45A Goshawk. In 1990, Testors reboxed the Italeri kit. Italeri reissued the kit in 2019.