USAF F-35 students to train on Talons, Vipers

In a curriculum similar to that used to train F-22 pilots, the USAF will train future F-35 pilots on the T-38 Talon trainer and F-16 fighter before moving on to the fifth-generation jet. The T-38 is deemed unequal to the task of preparing new aviators for fifth-generation fighters hence a stopgap F-16 bridging course is required until a new trainer is available.