Propellortoestellen

[Ace1]

Hawker Beechcraft's AT-6 Guns For Embraer's Super Tucano: Rival Planes Compared

It's Texan versus Tucano, take two, and the embarrassed Air Force has got to get it right this time.

For more news and information on the swiftly-changing defense industry, please sign up for the AOL Defense newsletter. For the quickest updates, like us on Facebook.

With all the claims, counter-claims, and rumors swirling about the controversial contract to buy the Embraer Super Tucano, which the Air Force cancelled unexpectedly on Tuesday and will likely re-compete, AOL Defense went both to the rival companies and independent sources to distill this definitive guide to the competition, from the two planes' performance to the manufacturers' twenty-year history of feuding.


The bottom line? Both leading competitors are offering small, propeller-driven planes that derive from foreign designs but will be built in the United States. Hawker Beechcraft's AT-6 Texan II (pictured above) is smaller, quicker, and more familiar to U.S. pilots and maintainers because of its similarity to the standard T-6 trainer. The Embraer Super Tucano is a larger plane with a solid track record of operating in tough conditions for non-U.S. air forces. Other contenders, including a militarized crop duster called the Air Tractor AT-800 and a proposal to resurrect the Vietnam-era OV-10 Bronco, are out of the running. It's down to two, and all eyes are on the Air Force.


For the Air Force: Small program, big stakes

The $355 million Light Air Support contract, intended as a (by Pentagon standards) quick and cheap way to get easy-to-operate ground attack planes for the nascent Afghan Air Force, has ballooned into a major embarrassment. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz told reporters yesterday that "Our institutional reputation is at stake." While the Air Force's formal court filings from Tuesday say only that the current contract award is "set aside" and the service is merely "reserving the right to conduct a whole new competition" rather than pledging to hold one, it's hard to see how the service can take any short-cuts and satisfy the intense public scrutiny.

But time is tight to re-compete the program: The Air Force has until September 30th – the end of the fiscal year – to use or lose the LAS funding. It has until April 2013 – the start of the spring fighting season in Afghanistan – to meet its original deadline to field the planes, whose close-support capabilities commanders on the ground first called for in a "Joint Urgent Operational Needs Statement" back in 2009. The Air Force and Navy tested Super Tucanos for the job under programs called Combat Dragon and Imminent Fury, but the Senate pulled the funding, reportedly under pressure from the Kansas delegation – which happens to be Hawker Beechcraft's home state.


For the companies: two decades of dogfights

At $355 million for the first 20 aircraft, up to a maximum of $950 million if the Air Force exercises all its options for additional planes, the Light Air Support program is a modest one by Pentagon standards. Why all the furor? For the makers of the rival airplanes, Kansas-based Hawker Beechcraft and Brazil's Embraer, this is just the latest battle in a larger war.

"There are so many other issues between Embraer and Hawker that this brings things to the head," said industry analyst Richard Aboulafia, of the Fairfax, Va.-based Teal Group, in an interview with AOL Defense. Hawker's bread and butter isn't defense contracts, it's business jets, and that's a market into which Embraer has been moving aggressively in recent years, just as the recession dried up sales. For Embraer to move in on the military market too was just too much. Hawker and partners have put $100 million of their own money into developing the AT-6 in hopes of foreign military sales, estimating a global demand for 450 to 550 light attack planes over the next decade (Aboulafia says half that many says is more realistic). "We've invested to have the capability to meet a need in the world market, this is the first significant competition in that market, and we don't intend to lose," Hawker Beechcraft chairman Bill Boisture told AOL Defense. And, unlike in business-jet sales, the intense "Buy American" passions stirred up in Congress also create an opportunity for Hawker to strike back.

This isn't the first time Hawker and Embraer have gone head-to-head for a military contract. In 1990-1991, both companies entered the competition for the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS) contract to provide a propeller-driving training plane for both the Air Force and the Navy – a $7 billion program for over 700 planes. Hawker entered a Swiss design, the Pilatus PC-9, which the Air Force designated the T-6 Texan II (the original "Texan" was a World War II-era plane); today's AT-6 is basically a T-6 upgraded for combat with a stronger wing, bigger engine, and better electronics. Embraer, with Northrop as its U.S. partner, entered their original Tucano. Hawker won. It was a big blow for the Brazilians. Afterwards they went back to the drawing board and redesigned their plane from the ground up as the Super Tucano – the plane they're offering the Air Force today.


The aircraft: size matters

Both rivals are offering small, propeller-driven planes that evolved from training aircraft. But within that niche, there are sizable differences – starting with size: The Super Tucano is just plain bigger than the AT-6. That's a double-edged sword, especially since the two planes have the same amount of horsepower.

"This is a larger, heavier airplane; I didn't make that up, it's in the specs," said Boisture of his rival, the Super Tucano. "[But] it's got the same engine our airplane has. So what that means is it's slower, it can haul less payload, it can stay on station less time than our airplane" – a heavier plane burns fuel faster – "and it's frankly less maneuverable."

For Embraer and its U.S. partner Sierra Nevada Corporation, however, size is a selling point. For one thing, the Super Tucano's guns are built into the aircraft, whereas the AT-6 has to mount guns externally in pods, leaving less room under the wing for bombs. Being bigger also allows larger control surfaces – rudders, flaps, tail – so, they say, the Super Tucano is more stable in flight, which is helpful for low-level bombing and strafing runs. The longer fuselage also means the Super Tucano's landing gear are further apart, an advantage in landing on dirt airstrips in rugged places like Afghanistan. It even allows the "sensor ball" that guides the aircraft's weapons to be placed further forward for a clearer field of view. Finally, "it has built in growth space, so the aircraft is at the beginning of its growth curve," said Sierra Nevada vice-president Taco Gilbert. "It's easy to modify."


The aircraft: track records

The best test of the competing claims, of course, would be in combat. That's where the Super Tucano has an edge, with a hundred planes in Brazilian Air Force service, two dozen in Colombia, and smaller numbers sold, according to Aboulafia, to Chile, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Indonesia, and even Burkina Faso. None of these aircraft has seen the kind of combat that's likely in Afghanistan, but the Brazilians and Colombians have used them against narco-guerrillas like the notorious FARC, which has shot at low-flying aircraft with an arsenal of assault rifles and heavy machineguns similar to the Taliban's. More conclusive is the evidence of simply operating day-to-day in the demanding environment of the Amazon, where heat, humidity, minimal maintenance, and hard landings on dirt airstrips – even dirt roads – all take a toll on aircraft. While Hawker Beechcraft points out their plane has met and exceeded the Air Force's requirements in tests, there are only two AT-6 prototypes even in existence, with nothing like the Super Tucano's real-world track record.

Where the AT-6 has the advantage, however, is in its commonality with the T-6 trainer, which beat out the original Tucano to become the standard plane in which U.S. Air Force and Navy pilots all learn to fly. The two AT-6 prototypes have only a thousand hours of flight time between them, but the T-6 fleet has flown over 3.8 million hours. That means a high comfort level for U.S. pilots and, even more important, for maintenance crews, since T-6 and AT-6 have about 85 percent of their parts in common. If the U.S. were buying a Light Air Support plane for its own use, the simplified logistics alone would make the AT-6 a slam-dunk – but we're buying it for the Afghans, so it's not.


The bottom line: American jobs

Of course, while the Air Force is supposed to base its decision on fine distinctions of performance, what politicians and the press care most about is jobs. Hawker Beechcraft has hammered on the theme that buying the AT-6 would create 1,400 U.S. jobs: eight hundred directly at Hawker Beechcraft's plant in Wichita, another six hundred estimated in the supplier base.

The only published figure for jobs building the Super Tucano? Fifty. Hawker Beechcraft has had a field day with this figure, but Sierra Nevada Corp. says this was just to build the two airplanes specified in an early Request For Proposal the program has grown beyond. "We were in the process of scaling up those numbers when we were issued a stop work order," said Gilbert. Until Sierra Nevada has solid figures, he said, "we will not inflate numbers, we will not speculate."

Gilbert will say, though, that "this contract produces zero jobs in Brazil." Embraer's Brazil facility will only stamp out the sheet metal for the wings and fuselage, he said, and everything else will be done in the U.S., either at an Embraer facility in Jacksonville, Florida or Sierra Nevada's in (unsurprisingly) Nevada. In fact, even the planes currently being put together in Brazil use over 86 percent (by value) American-built parts, Gilbert said: "They have to be shipped from the U.S. down to Brazil, so actually this is an easier way to produce this airplane, because we don't have to ship the parts as far." That is, of course, assuming they get to build the plane at all.

http://defense.aol.com/2012/03/01/hawker-beechcraft-at-6-texan-ii-guns-for-super-tucano-as-air-for/

[Ace1]

Light Air Support (LAS) Contest Between AT-6 Texan II, Super Tucano Continues

Observers in Washington believe the U.S. Air Force will make a source selection in its Light Air Support (LAS) aircraft program later this summer after the original deadline passed in June.

The LAS office at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, issued an October 2010 request for proposals that covers 20 aircraft to be used at two bases by the Afghan air force and 15 more for American use. LAS is now characterized as a modest program to "build partner capability" by training Third World air forces. It replaces earlier acquisition plans identified by the abbreviations OA-X and LAAR.

LAS has become a head-to-head competition between the Hawker Beechcraft AT-6 Texan II (previously identified variously as the AT-6B and AT-6C) and the Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucano, also called the A-29 or AT-29. Both aircraft use the 1,600 shaft horsepower Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68A/D engine – an upgrade for the AT-6 and standard on the Super Tucano.

The AT-6 is an armed version of a well established and very successful trainer, while the Super Tucano is a derivative of a trainer designed from the outset as a tactical warplane.

http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/light-air-support-las-contest-between-at-6-texan-ii-super-tucano-continues/

[Ace1]

The LAAR Lightweight Combat Aircraft Is Coming to the Air Force

A small, nimble warplane – an economical featherweight compared to robust combat aircraft like the 40-ton F-15E Strike Eagle – now enjoys a high priority on the Air Force's shopping list as the service remakes itself for counter-insurgency conflicts.

Under the OA-X program begun in September 2008, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz is pushing toward an eventual, $2 billion purchase of up to 100 Light Attack Armed Reconnaissance (LAAR) aircraft. The LAAR is likely to be a turboprop aircraft and will be part of mainstream Air Force operations. Air Combat Command (ACC) is performing developmental work rather than, as might be expected in an unorthodox effort, Air Force Special Operations Command.

One observer, given a glimpse of ACC's capabilities-based assessment conducted in 2009, made the comment that, "this looks a lot like World War II." That was a reference to the likely airframe and the guns and bombs it will carry, not to the 21st century digital avionics ACC expects to pack inside. An ACC official responded: "Yeah. We get that a lot."

Among aircraft being proposed are the AirTractor AT802U (a modified crop duster, demonstrated at the 2009 Paris Air Show), Alenia M346, Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucano, Hawker Beechcraft AT-6B Texan II, and Pilatus PC-6 Porter. Pentagon officials say LAAR must be derived from an "in production" aircraft design. Boeing, however, is proposing an OV-10(X) Bronco, based on the twin-engine, twin-boom forward air control aircraft of the Vietnam era, which the planemaker would return to production at a facility not yet chosen.

http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/the-laar-lightweight-combat-aircraft-is-coming-to-the-air-force/

[Ace1]

Test center fuses old, new technology for light attack

Posted 10/14/2010

by Maj. Gabe Johnson

10/14/2010 - DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. (AFNS) -- Test pilots and engineers here are learning what happens when high-tech systems are combined with low-tech airframes for a new, cost effective, light-attack aircraft.

Light attack, a revitalized concept in the Air Force, addresses the need for an airplane that offers surveillance as well as strike capabilities and walks the line between remotely piloted aircraft and high-performance fighters.

In appearance, Hawker Beechcraft AT-6Cs resemble the fighters of yesteryear with single engine propellers and shark-face nose art. They are, in actuality, one possible candidate for Air Force light attack aircraft and the latest project for Air National Guard Air Force Reserve Command Test Center officials based at Tucson International Airport.

Lt. Col. Keith Colmer, a developmental test pilot and director of engineering for AATC, deployed to Iraq in early 2008, where he flew numerous close air support missions in F-16 Fighting Falcons.

During more than 100 combat hours, he served as an eye in the sky for Army elements but he said he rarely engaged the enemy on their behalf.

"Right now we are paying a high cost to fly an F-16 in terms of fuel and wear and tear for missions that don't require the full capabilities of the airplane," said Colonel Colmer, who leads AATC's light-attack program. "With fourth generation fighters nearing the end of their service life, a light-attack platform could take on these kinds of missions and lighten the load."

The test center, which conducts operational tests on behalf of the Reserve, is manned by a team of active-duty, Guard, Reserve, civilian and contractor members who field low-cost, low-risk, off-the-shelf improvements for aircraft and weapons systems.

Officials said the center's unique efficiency is perfect for building and evaluating a light-attack aircraft.

"In keeping with our '80 percent of the capability for 20 percent of the cost' motto, we took existing technology from the A-10 (Thunderbolt II) and F-16 and inserted it in the AT-6," Colonel Colmer said.

Mounted next to the AT-6's manual flight controls, levers, cables and pulleys are mission computers, situational awareness data links, radios, helmet-mounted cueing systems, hands-on stick and throttles, threat countermeasures and armament pylons typically found on current fighter and attack aircraft.

"We learned a lot from initial testing earlier this year and made several adjustments," Colonel Colmer said. "The testing this month is about bringing in testers from around the Air Force; A-10 and F-16 pilots from Edwards (Air Force Base, Calif.), Nellis (AFB, Nev.), and Eglin (AFB, Fla.)"

"Overall, pilots are coming back after flying it excited about light attack," Colonel Colmer said. "They're enjoying the sorties and the aircraft's capabilities. Almost everyone has a list of things they would like to change, but that's what we expected. Now we'll take their input and make it a better aircraft."

Maj. Jesse Smith, an A-10 pilot from the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron at Nellis AFB, flew the modified AT-6 during a simulated combat search and rescue sortie Oct. 7.

"It's easy to handle," Major Smith said. "They took some of the systems and avionics from the A-10, so that made it easier for me to step in. Based on the scenario we had today, we were able to go out and execute."

"It's not the answer for everything, but if you look at what's going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, it's a good concept that can save money."

To buy and operate a light-attack aircraft costs pennies on the dollar compared to an A-10 or F-16.

For the A-10 or F-16, the cost per flying hour is around 15,000 to 17,000 dollars for fuel and maintenance.

Test center officials say the AT-6 is currently running at about 600 dollars per hour.

Though light attack is not viewed as a replacement for jets, Airmen here are finding out that the two-seat turboprop can fill a number of roles.

Pilots are examining the AT-6 as a companion trainer to give them a firsthand look at close air support from the air.

Combat controllers and tactical air control party members are also evaluating the aircraft as a possible trainer.

"Right now in the (joint terminal attack control) community, there are not enough sorties to keep them trained," Colonel Colmer said. "One thought is that this type of aircraft could be based with their units so they could get more practice with controlling an aircraft that adequately replicates an A-10 or F-16. They could even fly more often to gain a sense of a pilot's perspective."

In domestic operations it could support border security, counter drug and homeland defense.

For state missions, during fires, floods or other disasters, it could use sensors to map out an area for responders.

Additionally, officials believe a light-attack platform can help build partner nation air forces that lack the funding and the need for jet-powered aircraft.

"It's exciting to be a proponent for light attack in this early stage when the possibilities seem endless and we can demonstrate what one of these airplanes could do," said Colonel Colmer, who emphasized that light attack is not yet a procurement program.

Usually, testing occurs after an aircraft is purchased. In this case, Colonel Colmer and his team have a unique opportunity to help develop and refine a set of technologies and weapons for a light-attack airplane and give decision makers a clear picture before they buy a platform.

"For the last 18 months, we've been working on requirements and technologies to integrate on the aircraft," Colonel Colmer said. "Future iterations of tests will integrate Hellfire missiles, Aim 9 Sidewinders and various other weapons."

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123226358

[Ace1]

Test Center proves modern weapons for light attack aircraft

Posted 9/29/2011 

by Maj. Gabe Johnson
162nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs

9/29/2011 - TUCSON, Ariz.  -- It's light, lean, cost effective - and now lethal. The AT-6C light attack aircraft in testing here successfully employed precision-guided munitions for the first time Sept. 28.

In three test flights over Southern Arizona's Barry M. Goldwater Range the experimental airplane dropped three GBU-12s - 500-pound laser-guided bombs - and each hit its intended target.

A team of test pilots and engineers converged on the Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve Command Test Center (AATC) based at Tucson International Airport to put the propeller-driven airplane through two weeks of air-to-ground and air-to-air weapons testing.

"We're very happy. This is a culmination of a year and half of test effort for us," said Lt. Col. Keith Colmer, developmental test pilot and director of engineering for AATC. "This was the first time that we brought light attack into the modern generation of weapons."

Though light attack is not an Air Force procurement program, AATC's task is to report its findings to senior leaders early next year to help refine requirements.

The turbo prop, speed of the aircraft, configuration of the cockpit and general appearance of the Hawker Beechcraft AT-6 are very similar to aircraft the Air Force was known for decades ago, yet Colonel Colmer and his team are working with technology borrowed from A-10s and F-16s to show that modern weapons can overcome some of the limitations associated with a lack jet engines.

"You feel the air a lot more than you would with hydraulically actuated flight controls," said Dan Hinson, AT-6 lead test pilot and test manager for Hawker Beechcraft Defense Company. "It has an honest feel to it. With a heads up display in the cockpit it feels very much at home to a fighter pilot. It's easy to step in and start employing tactically."

The result is a low-cost, light attack aircraft that could one day fill a role that resides between remotely piloted aircraft and high-performance fighters, while blending many of their capabilities. At under $1,000 per flying hour, officials say a light attack platform can save money while sparing the service's current fleet from unnecessary wear and tear.

Over several months the team modified the AT-6 to carry munitions, mounted avionics and computer systems, a targeting sensor and much more.

"Since October [2010], we've been dropping unguided weapons from the airplane," said Colonel Colmer, an F-16 pilot by trade. "Sometimes, advanced weapons create lift when they're dropped from an aircraft. They can inadvertently fly back up and hit the airplane. There's a lot of tweaking that has to be done so we can get a clean separation... which was exactly what we got today."

Next week Colmer's team will test the GBU-58, a new 250-pound precision-munition that produces less blast radius and less collateral damage - a suitable weapon for counter insurgency and close air support missions.

"Also, due to their lower weight, the AT-6 would be able to carry a number of them in combat," he said.

Test Center officials also intend to prove air-to-air capabilities in upcoming trials. Next week the team will mount and test 50-caliber gun pods, firing rounds at a targeting banner in tow 2,000 feet behind a Cessna Conquest.

"We're very interested in how that performs. It could be employed for an [Aerospace Control Alert] Noble Eagle mission or counter drug mission," he said.

In the aircraft's final phase of tests in December, AATC will employ experimental weapons, specifically, laser-guided rockets with a longer range and even less collateral damage.

The Test Center, which conducts operational tests on behalf of the Guard and Reserve, is a compact group of active duty, Guard, Reserve, civilian and contractor members who field low-cost, low-risk, off-the-shelf improvements for aircraft and weapon systems across the combat Air Force. Its unique efficiency makes it well suited for building and evaluating a light attack aircraft.

"I have never worked with an organization that is as flexible and capable as AATC has been," said Hinson. "They can technically analyze problems, logically evaluate risk and then make solid risk management decisions and go execute. Because of that we've been able to move extraordinarily fast."

In addition to AT-6 testing, the center is currently working on new software and high-definition color displays for F-16s, logistics maintenance modernization for A-10s, improved situational awareness for HH-60 cockpits, and several projects to enhance mobility and special operations forces.


Lt. Col. Keith Colmer, a test pilot with the Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve Command Test Center in Tucson, Ariz., successfully releases a 500-pound GBU-12 laser-guided weapon from an AT-6C experimental light attack aircraft Sept. 28.

http://www.162fw.ang.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123273986

[bergd]

Een goede COIN en lichte CAS kist met zijn max. vliegduur van 6 uur en 12 minuten.  Maar de OV-10 Bronco is al wel 26 a 27 uit productie.
Er moet een nieuwe 'glas stuurhut' in en de kist is underpowered, of te wel te weinig motor vermogen, dus sterkere motoren.
Daarnaast heeft de Bronco het probleem dat 'ditchen' op 1 motor zeer gevaarlijk is.  Ditchen is een noodlanding met ingetrokken landingsgestel op land of water.
US State Department gebruikte de OV-10 Bronco als Narcotics Eradication Delivery System, waarbij o.a. coca en  opium plantages werden vernietigd met Roundup onkruid bestrijding middel.  De Bronco moest daarbij rechte banen vliegen op ca. 80 voet / 24 meter hoogte.
De twee motorige Bronco bleek daarbij echter te kwetsbaar voor 7,62 mm, 12,7mm en draagbare luchtdoelraketten.  En werd vervangen door de een motorige Turbo Thrush V-1 Vigilante.
De zeer wendbare Vigilantes sproeiden Roundup en werden geëscorteerd door bewapende en gepantserde Vigilante's die maximaal 1.905 kg konden meevoeren en en maximale vliegduur hadden van 7 uur.    Een Super Tucano kan 1.500 kg externe lasten vervoeren en heeft een maximale vliegduur van 6,5 uur.  Airtractor heeft ook een gepantserd en bewapend landbouw sproei vliegtuig in de aanbieding.
De AT-802U kan maximaal 10 uur in de lucht blijven en kan maximaal 3.629 kg aan externe lasten meevoeren.  Die externe last is even veel als die van het CAS en COIN vliegtuig A-1 Skyraider uit de Vietnam oorlog.
Niet veel landen hebben een LHD waar een Bronco, Super Tucano of AT-802U vanaf kan opereren.
Dus ga ik liever voor een combinatie van een aantal (10 - 12) COIN Super Tucano's voor ops vanaf landbases en ca. 18 - 20 H-60M BattleHawks t.b.v. land -, of maritieme ops.

Dus als ik het goed begrijp is er op dit moment geen COIN (prop) toestel die gebruik kunnen maken van een LHD?

[Poleme]

Een goede COIN en lichte CAS kist met zijn max. vliegduur van 6 uur en 12 minuten.  Maar de OV-10 Bronco is al wel 26 a 27 uit productie.
Er moet een nieuwe 'glas stuurhut' in en de kist is underpowered, of te wel te weinig motor vermogen, dus sterkere motoren.
Daarnaast heeft de Bronco het probleem dat 'ditchen' op 1 motor zeer gevaarlijk is.  Ditchen is een noodlanding met ingetrokken landingsgestel op land of water.
US State Department gebruikte de OV-10 Bronco als Narcotics Eradication Delivery System, waarbij o.a. coca en  opium plantages werden vernietigd met Roundup onkruid bestrijding middel.  De Bronco moest daarbij rechte banen vliegen op ca. 80 voet / 24 meter hoogte.
De twee motorige Bronco bleek daarbij echter te kwetsbaar voor 7,62 mm, 12,7mm en draagbare luchtdoelraketten.  En werd vervangen door de een motorige Turbo Thrush V-1 Vigilante.
De zeer wendbare Vigilantes sproeiden Roundup en werden geëscorteerd door bewapende en gepantserde Vigilante's die maximaal 1.905 kg konden meevoeren en en maximale vliegduur hadden van 7 uur.    Een Super Tucano kan 1.500 kg externe lasten vervoeren en heeft een maximale vliegduur van 6,5 uur.  Airtractor heeft ook een gepantserd en bewapend landbouw sproei vliegtuig in de aanbieding.
De AT-802U kan maximaal 10 uur in de lucht blijven en kan maximaal 3.629 kg aan externe lasten meevoeren.  Die externe last is even veel als die van het CAS en COIN vliegtuig A-1 Skyraider uit de Vietnam oorlog.
Niet veel landen hebben een LHD waar een Bronco, Super Tucano of AT-802U vanaf kan opereren.
Dus ga ik liever voor een combinatie van een aantal (10 - 12) COIN Super Tucano's voor ops vanaf landbases en ca. 18 - 20 H-60M BattleHawks t.b.v. land -, of maritieme ops.

[Ace1]

Hier nog wat info gevonden over een moderne versie van de Bronco zoals Boeing dat voor ogen heeft.
Zoals Bergd zei een ideaal toestel voor een LHD lijk me ook veel goedkoper dan Apache ombouwen voor maritieme operaties?

http://www.janes.com/products/janes/defence-security-report.aspx?ID=1065927963

http://www.ov-10bronco.net/Technical/boeing_ov-10(x)_super_bronco_info_card_2009_01.pdf

[Ace1]

Kunnen ze hier niet nieuw leven inblazen? Zou toch mogelijk moeten zijn de ov-10 Bronco op bijvoorbeeld de enforcer 17000 (of iets dergelijks) te plaatsen. Ik denk voor veel landen interresant.

Bergd, Boeing heeft wel plannen gehad om een nieuw leven in de Bronco te plaatsen maar hoe het daarmee voorstaat geen idee, info over de Bronco kun je in deze topic teruglezen.

[Ace1]

US still interested in Brazil warplanes: official

The United States remains interested in a possible purchase of light attack aircraft made by Brazil's Embraer despite cancelling a contract this week, a top US official said Thursday.
Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, on a visit to Rio de Janeiro, said the contract cancellation was not a reflection on the Super Tucano -- to be used in Afghanistan -- which he described as "a very fine aircraft."
Brazil's foreign ministry issued a strongly-worded statement, voicing its "surprise" at the cancellation of the bid, particularly "its manner and timing."
"This development is not considered conducive to strengthening relations between the two countries on defense affairs," the terse statement said.
The Pentagon cancelled Tuesday a $355 million contract with US firm Sierra Nevada Corp. and Brazil's Embraer, and announced an investigation after a legal challenge from rival American aerospace firm Hawker Beechcraft Corp.
"Embraer is a great company and the Super Tucano is a very fine aircraft," Burns told reporters in Rio. "The US is now in the midst of some internal processes but we remain interested."
Burns said there was no link between that contract and a tough bidding war in Brazil for 36 air force fighter jets. US-based Boeing is battling for the deal worth between $4-7 billion with France's Dassault and Swedish maker Saab.
"They are two separate issues," Burns said.
"We're convinced that the (Boeing) F18 is the best available aircraft. One thing that reflects that is that it's the aircraft the US is going to be using for the next 20 or 30 years," he said.
"We're convinced that the technology transfer package that we're offering along with that aircraft is unprecedented in our relationship and is also the best of the available packages."
On the Embraer contract, US General Norton Schwartz said Wednesday that the Air Force would move "quickly" to relaunch the contest for 20 light support planes for the Afghan military as funds for the program will expire at the end of fiscal year 2013.
The contract for 20 Embraer AT-29 Super Tucano aircraft was awarded in December as part of plans to arm the Afghan military amid a NATO troop drawdown.
But the US Air Force said it was not "satisfied" with the paperwork and announced a review of the award.
The US military wants to provide a light aircraft for Afghanistan's air fleet to conduct flight training, aerial reconnaissance and combat support operations for ground troops.
The AT-29 Super Tucano is a turboprop aircraft designed for low-threat environments.
However Hawker Beechcraft Corp, based in Wichita, Kansas, protested the award, arguing that its AT-6 plane was unfairly shut out of the competition.
Embraer officials denied the allegations but were unable to stop a government investigation.


Read more: http://www.defencetalk.com/us-still-interested-in-brazil-warplanes-official-40711/#ixzz1o5gZiQPt

[Ace1]

US Air Force cancels deal for Brazilian-made aircraft

The US Air Force has canceled a $355 million contract for a light attack aircraft made by Brazil's Embraer, saying it would open an investigation after protests from a rival US aerospace firm, officials said Tuesday.
The contract for 20 Embraer AT-29 Super Tucano aircraft was awarded in December as part of plans to arm the Afghan military amid a NATO troop drawdown.
But the US Air Force said it was not "satisfied" with the paperwork supporting the decision to hand the project to US-based Sierra Nevada Corporation, in partnership with Embraer.
The US military wants to provide a light aircraft for Afghan's air fleet to conduct flight training, aerial reconnaissance and combat support operations for ground troops.
The AT-29 Super Tucano is a turboprop aircraft designed for low threat environments.
However Hawker Beechcraft Corp, based in Wichita, Kansas, protested the award, arguing that its AT-6 plane was unfairly shut out of the competition.
Embraer officials denied the allegations but were unable to stop a government investigation.
"Today, the Air Force advised the Department of Justice that it will take corrective action on the Afghanistan Light Air Support contract and will set aside the contract award to Sierra Nevada effective March 2, 2012," the Air Force said in a statement.
"While we pursue perfection, we sometimes fall short, and when we do we will take corrective action," Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said in the same statement.
He added that the service's senior acquisition executive "is not satisfied with the quality of the documentation supporting the award decision" but did not elaborate, citing pending litigation.
The statement also said the head of Air Force Materiel Command, General Donald Hoffman, has launched an investigation into the award.
Lawmakers who represent Kansas, where Hawker Beechcraft is located, had raised questions about the deal with Sierra Nevada and Embraer.
In Brazil, Embraer said in a statement that it had provided "on time and without exceptions, all the required documentation" in partnership with Sierra Nevada.
The decision "in favor of the Super Tucano... was a choice for the best product with proven performance in action and all the necessary capabilities to meet client demands," Embraer said.


Read more: http://www.defencetalk.com/us-air-force-cancels-deal-for-brazilian-embraer-at-29-super-tucano-aircraft-40677/#ixzz1o5foctS5

[Ace1]

Ook een A-29 Super Tucano kan op een hobbelige baan landen en opstijgen

[Ace1]

Hier een flimpje van de AT6B Hawker Beechcraft die is uitgerust met rockets, missiles en een laser targeting system en zo te zien kan het net als een C130 op een hobbelige baan landen en opstijgen?

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/video/?fr_story=3e1f1a09b315fefd1e4c906de41b0bf1c0b25498

[Ace1]

Is er nog nieuws over De Enforcer of De OV-10X Bronco?

[Enforcer]

Hopelijk leest men dit bij mindef ook...

Hopelijk niet. Zou een goede reden zijn om helemaal geen fatsoenlijke toestellen meer aan te schaffen. Zo'n propeller vliegtuigje is leuk voor een missie als Afghanistan maar daar blijft het ook bij. Het gebrek aan snelheid ten opzichte van bijvoorbeeld een F-16 zorgt er ook voor dat in conflictgebieden waar de afstanden groot zijn je veel meer toestellen nodig hebt om een gebied te controleren.

Als je de Pilatus op den duur vervangt door een toestel wat zowel als les en COIN apparaat, ben je efficiënt bezig.