The Slingsby T-3A Firefly is a two-seat aerobatic training aircraft built by Slingsby Aviation in Kirkbymoorside, Yorkshire, England. Over 250 have been built mainly as a basic military trainer, with the US Air Force as the largest operator. The Firefly was selected in 1992 to replace the T-41 for the command's Enhanced Flight Screening Program, which would include aerobatic maneuvers. Although operated successfully in the United Kingdom and Canada, the T3A got a bad reputation in the United States after three fatal crashes during Air Force training operations. Between 2002 and 2003, the 53 aircraft at the Air Force Academy were disassembled. On September 9, 2006, it was announced that they would be scrapped.

The T-3A Firefly is propeller driven and was used by the US Air Force's Air Education and Training Command for screening pilot candidates by exposing them to military style traffic patterns, aerobatics and spins. The T-3A replaced the T-41 aircraft since it was incapable for those maneuvers that the T-3A was capable. The T-3A also teaches students takeoffs and landings, stalls, slow flight, ground operations and mission planning.