Throughout the late '60s, the JSDAF came to note that their Fuji T-1 subsonic light trainer failed miserably at preparing pilots for the mach 2+ heavy frontline fighters currently in use with the JSDAF, such as the F-104J and the F-4EJ Phantom II. At first, Japan considered acquiring foreign aircraft, but that idea quickly died down as the USA only offered the T-38 Talon and SEPECAT started asking for exhorbitant licensing fees for their Jaguar. Realizing that foreign trainers were out of the question, a new set of developement programs were started to develop new indeginous supersonic jets for Japan: First, the T-X program to field a supersonic trainer aircraft, and later the SF-X program stemming from it, to develop a single-seat attack aircraft on the basis of the T-X aircraft. Developement of both aircraft was handed to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries after a fierce design proposal competition from Mitsubishi, Kawasaki, and Fuji. The first prototype of the new trainer "T-2" rolled off the production line on April 28, 1971, and conducted many static and ground tests before performing its first flight on July 20th of that year. After testing came to an end, production was authorized, and 90 T-2s were built, divided across 28 "T-2(Z)s", or "Zenkigata (early type)" and 62 "T-2(K)s", or "Kokigata (late type)". The aforementioned SF-X program to develop a strike aircraft based on the T-X would result in the F-1.

The T-2 Early is a somewhat peculiar premium vehicle. It was introduced in Update "Fire and Ice", however, it was removed from the Gaijin store at the end of the 2023 May Sale approxomately 6 months later, making it one of shortest selling pack premium in War Thunder history. It was briefly made available for purchase with Golden Eagles for the 2023 "T-2 First Flight Anniversary" event a few months later and for the 2024 "T-2 First Flight Anniversary" event. The T-2 Early is a early prototype model of the tech-tree T-2 supersonic fighter trainer, and is identical to it in all performance aspects. As such, it should be played in an identical manner: The aircraft has above-average speed and handling characteristics for its tier, along with decent missiles, however the biggest downside is the lack of any countermeasures, making the T-2 Early in the hands of less experienced pilots easy prey for the powerful all-aspect missiles at its tier such as the AIM-9L and the R-60M. Pilots flying the T-2 Early must exercise caution, maintain good situational awareness, and pick their engagements correctly to avoid dying to missiles.