OA-X "light attack" programma en ontwikkelingen

Gestart door Harald, 15/03/2017 | 08:34 uur

Sparkplug

Citaat van: Oorlogsvis op 17/02/2021 | 20:07 uur
Ben ik niet helemaal met je eens Huzaar ...Nederland is ook best vaak op safari ...Mali, Irak, Afghanistan en wie weet
waar we in de toekomst zullen zijn. De aanschaf van 8 Super Tucano achtigen kost tussen de 100 en 140 miljoen USD en zodra
je op missie gaat en die dingen gaat gebruiken ipv dure F-35's ga je je geld terugverdienen.

Laat de KLu eerst maar de eigen prioriteiten afwerken en dat de huidige eenheden qua personeel op sterkte zijn. Verder liever twee AH-64E's ter compensatie van de afgeschreven stuks dan die Super Tucano's.
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

Oorlogsvis

Citaat van: Huzaar1 op 17/02/2021 | 16:47 uur
Totaal onnodig voor NL.
Ben ik niet helemaal met je eens Huzaar ...Nederland is ook best vaak op safari ...Mali, Irak, Afghanistan en wie weet
waar we in de toekomst zullen zijn. De aanschaf van 8 Super Tucano achtigen kost tussen de 100 en 140 miljoen USD en zodra
je op missie gaat en die dingen gaat gebruiken ipv dure F-35's ga je je geld terugverdienen.

Huzaar1

"Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion" US secmindef - Jed Babbin"

Oorlogsvis

Dit soort toestellen van rond de 10-15 MIO USD zijn ook betaalbaar voor vele Afrikaanse landen die te maken hebben met opkomend
terrorisme voor de prijs van een F-16 heb je er al snel 8 rondvliegen.

Maar ik ben wel een voorstander van dit concept ....troepen op de grond kunnen altijd vuursteun aanvragen wat dan binnen een
paar seconden geregeld kan worden omdat deze toestellen lang in de lucht kunnen blijven en ze kunnen landen op een onverharde strip.

Huzaar1

Citaat van: Ace1 op 03/06/2020 | 21:26 uur
Ik ben van mening dat Boeing beter voor de Super Bronco had moeten gaan. Deze kon 16 Hellfire missiles dragen.

https://web.archive.org/web/20110720050756/http://www.ov-10bronco.net/Technical/boeing_ov-10(x)_super_bronco_info_card_2009_01.pdf

https://www.flightglobal.com/boeing-considers-restarting-ov-10-production-after-23-year-hiatus/84847.article

De OV Bronco was maritiem inzetbaar.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Rockwell_OV-10_Bronco#cite_note-flightglobal-57

bedrijf zal een meer wel overwogen keuze met veel meer inzicht op het onderwerp maken dan jij, met alle respect.
"Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion" US secmindef - Jed Babbin"

Harald

Special ops still bullish on new armed overwatch plane

Air Force Special Operations Command plans to conduct flying demonstrations of multiple armed overwatch aircraft this year, paving the way for procurement to start in fiscal 2022, its top general said Tuesday.

Speaking at a discussion hosted by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, AFSOC commander Lt. Gen. James Slife said that the forthcoming demonstration could help furnish lawmakers — who opposed funding the procurement of five armed overwatch planes in FY21 — with the information they need to satisfy questions and concerns about the program.

"I think we can do [the program] at relatively low risk based on what we've seen from the vendors who have indicated that they intend to bring platforms to demonstrate for us in the coming months," Slife said. "If it is non-developmental and it meets the requirements that SOCOM has laid out to industry, then we're interested in looking at it."

U.S. Special Operations Command requested $101 million in fiscal year 2021 to buy the first five armed overwatch aircraft and announced plans to purchase up to 75 planes total to replace the U-28 Draco. However, Congress made major cuts to the program and included language in the defense policy bill that would prohibit SOCOM from being able to buy armed overwatch aircraft in FY21.

.../....

https://www.defensenews.com/air/2021/02/16/special-ops-still-bullish-on-new-armed-overwatch-plane/

Ace1

Ik ben van mening dat Boeing beter voor de Super Bronco had moeten gaan. Deze kon 16 Hellfire missiles dragen.

https://web.archive.org/web/20110720050756/http://www.ov-10bronco.net/Technical/boeing_ov-10(x)_super_bronco_info_card_2009_01.pdf

https://www.flightglobal.com/boeing-considers-restarting-ov-10-production-after-23-year-hiatus/84847.article

De OV Bronco was maritiem inzetbaar.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Rockwell_OV-10_Bronco#cite_note-flightglobal-57


Harald

Here's the New "Bronco II" Precision Strike Aircraft for Counterinsurgency/Irregular Warfare missions   (  Bronco II is een kandidaat voor de SOCOM invulling )

Based on the weird South African AHRLAC aircraft (Advanced High-Performance Reconnaissance Light Aircraft) the Bronco II was launched today in the US market.

the newly created Bronco Combat System (BCS) USA announced the launch of the Bronco II, a two-crew C4ISR and precision strike aircraft, based on the South Africa's first indigenous turboprop aircraft designed AHRLAC (Advanced High-performance Reconnaissance and Surveillance Aircraft), developed by a joint venture between the Paramount Group and Aerosud.

The name of the new light aircraft was inspired by the OV-10 Bronco, the U.S. aircraft developed in the 1960s as a special aircraft for counter-insurgency (COIN) combat and used today by the U.S. Special Operations Command to hunt ISIS militants in Iraq.

According to the BCS press release, the Bronco II is "capable of carrying a wide range of weapons, sensors and systems in extended airborne mission operations. It is a unique platform that is built for purpose; uses a pusher propeller and has an open system architecture allowing for the rapid incorporation of current and emerging systems, setting a new standard for mission flexibility and adaptability.

AHRLAC was first unveiled in September 2011 at the Aerosud manufacturing facility on the eastern side of AFB Waterkloof. The "odd drone alternative" made its first flight in July 2014 and by September 2016, the prototype had accumulated 250 flying hours during tests, as well as actual deployments to the South African border and to neighbouring Botswana where the aircraft conducted operationally representative trials, including landing on a range of surfaces such as compact sand and gravel. According to an AIN article, the aircraft was also flown on an ad hoc trial during the civil unrest in South Africa.

In March 2016, Boeing announced that it had entered into a development partnership with Paramount with the aim of producing a militarized version of the Ahrlac.

..../....



http://broncocombatsystem.com/

https://theaviationist.com/2018/02/21/heres-the-new-bronco-ii/

Harald

SOCOM Multi-Mission Plane Competition Heats Up

SOCOM has budgeted $106 million in 2021 to buy the first five of up to 75 Armed Overwatch aircraft to perform close air support for its troops on the ground, light attack and ISR missions. The planes would replace Air Force Special Operations Command current fleet of U-28 Draco aircraft.

Given the fact that the global market for trainers is flat at best, and practically non-existent for light attack aircraft, the competition for Special Operations Command's upcoming Armed Overwatch buy is likely to be fierce.

"75 planes is a lot in this market," Richard Aboulafia, aviation analyst at Teal Group, told Breaking D.

SOCOM has budgeted $106 million in 2021 to buy the first five of up to 75 Armed Overwatch aircraft to perform close air support for its troops on the ground, light attack and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The planes would replace Air Force Special Operations Command's current fleet of U-28 Draco aircraft.

Indeed, Teal Group's January 2020 market analysis on trainers (not including supersonic aircraft) and light attack aircraft finds the total market worth only about $2 billion, compared to up to $30 billion for fighter jets.

"Having SOCOM do this with 75 planes to train with less capable allied forces almost makes sense, compared with the totally absurd idea of the Air Force buying hundreds as part of their force structure," Aboulafia said.

He was referencing the Air Force's on-again, off-again romance with the concept of buying up to 300 so-called Light Attack Aircraft to use for training, for close air support by Air Force Special Operations Command, and as strike aircraft for US allies involved in insurgencies such as Afghanistan and Lebanon. After almost a decade of dithering, the service finally in February made a final determination to buy only two each of the Textron/Beechcraft AT-6 Wolverine and the Sierra Nevada-Embraer A-29 Tucanos for continued experimentation.

SOCOM officials have stressed that the commands requirements are slightly different than those of the Air Force, focused more on mission capabilities than aircraft design.

"Armed Overwatch addresses our requirement for a close air support and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability that can operate in austere, short take-off and landing environments with minimal manning, infrastructure and sustainment," Lt. Cmdr. Timothy Hawkins, a SOCOM spokesperson, told Breaking D.

And while at least one vendor expressed concerns about speaking with the press due to guidance issued to industry by SOCOM, Hawkins said the guidance used standard language asking vendors not to speak about SOCOM's articulated needs with the goal of protecting 'controlled unclassified' information.

The program is slated to hold a prototype demonstration in November or December — a date that may slip, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At least four aircraft manufacturing teams have confirmed participation in the contest: Sierra Nevada-Embraer; Textron Aviation Defense; Air Tractor; and Leidos.

In an May 18 interview with Breaking D, Textron Aviation Defense's Vice President of Defense Strategy and Sales Brett Pierson stressed the fact that the Beechcraft AT-6E has already shown that it can perform the multiple missions envisioned by SOCOM by virtue of its participation in the Air Force's Light Attack Experiment over the last several years.

"It already has the capability to do the kind of missions that SOCOM talks about," he said.

The AT-6 has proven its chops in austere environments, Pierson said, both in landing on unprepared runways, and in the ability to rapidly refuel and re-arm.

"During Light Attack Experiment, one of the things we demonstrated was the ability to have pilots refuel the airplane, re-arm rockets, do a quick turnaround and take back off again," he said.

In addition, Pierson pointed out, Textron Aviation Defense has customers all over the world , giving it an established supply chain, as well as manufacturing capability. According to a company fact sheet provided to Breaking D, the AT-6 has "85 percent parts commonality with the T-6" trainer, which "yields low risk, low cost sustainment, world-wide logistics, and low-footprint maintenance."

On the other hand, newcomer to the competition Leidos argues that its new Bronco II has the advantage of being designed specifically with the SOCOM mission in mind. Leidos is partnering on Bronco II with the US arm of South African defense conglomerate Paramount Group (which manufactures the Mwari light reconnaissance aircraft), and aftermarket service provider Vertex Aerospace, based in Mississippi.

And the fact that the Bronco II is a prototype means its specifications can be altered more easily to fit exactly what the customer might desire, Richard Jackson, Leidos VP for Business Development & Strategy Airborne Solutions, Defense, told Breaking D in a May 19 interview.

"It allows SOCOM, from our perspective, to have greater flexibility in influencing the future of how the aircraft evolves," he said.

The aircraft design is optimized to meet SOCOM's multi-mission profile, Jackson stressed, using modern, modular design approaches and open standards that ensure future subsystem upgrades are easily accomplished. It also has an "interchangeable conformal mission bay" that allows payloads to be rapidly swapped out by a couple of operators "in hours, not days."

"Multi-mission is key word here," he said. "It can do the surveillance and combat support and combat attack role simultaneously. That is something that SOCOM has touted and is not easily done."

The Bronco II is built specifically to operate in austere environments, he said. For example, it can be rapidly broken down for transport — with one deconstructed aircraft fitting on a C-130 and two fitting in a C-17.

"It was designed from a clean sheet," Jackson said, "purpose built for austere environments. That's something that no other company can say."

Neither Sierra Nevada-Embraer or Air Tractor were available for comment.

The A-29 turboprop not only has been involved in the Air Force's Light Attack Experiment, but also used in combat by Afghanistan's air force in the fight against the Taliban. And on April 17, the Sierra Nevada/Embraer team announced that it has successfully flight tested the first of 12 A-29s being built for the Nigerian air force.

Air Tractor had offered, with partner L3, the AT-802L Longsword back in 2017 during Phase 1 of the Light Attack Aircraft experiment, but lost out to the AT-6 and A-29 — with Air Force officials citing lack of an ejection seat as a factor. (Air Tractor last November filed a bid protest with the Government Accountability Office that was subsequently dismissed.) Air Tractor's website now touts the multi-mission AT-802U, which the firm says can support ISR, signals intelligence, border/maritime patrol and remote supply/transport missions.

https://breakingdefense.com/2020/06/socom-multi-mission-plane-competition-heats-up/

Harald

US special forces Armed Overwatch light attack demo scheduled for November

US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) plans to conduct a flight demonstration as part of its Armed Overwatch light-attack aircraft prototype project in November 2020.

Should SOCOM decide to move forward with Overwatch after demonstrations, one company could be awarded a production contract for 75 aircraft to be delivered over a five- to seven-year period, the service says in a 2 April online notice.

"The Armed Overwatch programme will provide Special Operations Forces deployable, affordable and sustainable single-engined fixed-wing manned aircraft systems fulfilling close air support, armed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, strike coordination and reconnaissance, and forward air controller requirements in austere and permissive environments for the countering-violent extremist organisation missions," SOCOM says.

SOCOM says the Armed Overwatch programme will have three phases.

Interested companies must first submit a notice of intent and a white paper about their proposed aircraft. The notice of intent is due 8 April. The white paper is due 1 May.

In the second phase, SOCOM will meet with companies for two-day, one-on-one sessions at potential contractor facilities. The government plans to review bidders' technical approach, technical maturity, proposed schedule, manufacturing readiness and Department of Defense flight and weapons clearances.

"Affordability of the proposed weapons system and lifecycle costs will be increasingly more important evaluation criteria from phase two through the production award," says SOCOM. "If the SOCOM evaluation team favourably evaluates an offeror during this phase, negotiations to award an [Other Transaction Authority (OTA) Agreement] under phase three may begin in as little as two weeks."

OTAs have fewer regulations than conventional Federal Acquisition Regulation-based acquisitions. In particular, the Department of Defense has claimed the process allows it to more openly communication with companies about technology requirements. The Pentagon has held up OTAs as a means to prototype and buy aircraft faster.

In the third phase, SOCOM plans to award four competitors no more than $4 million each to demonstrate their aircraft in November 2020.

"The government will identify the specific test dates at the start of phase three and a random draw will determine the order of testing," says SOCOM.

The service anticipates the whole programme lasting about 12 months, likely ending by 1 April 2021 – with or without a production contract granted.

Likely competitors in the Armed Overwatch programme include fixed-wing light attack aircraft, such as the Textron Beechcraft AT-6 and Sierra Nevada /Embraer A-29.

Turboprop light attack aircraft can carry machine guns, rockets, missiles and precision bombs. Critically, light attack aircraft have a cost per flight hour that is tens of thousands of dollars less than advanced fighters such as the Boeing F-15E or Lockheed Martin F-35.

https://www.flightglobal.com/fixed-wing/us-special-forces-armed-overwatch-light-attack-demo-scheduled-for-november/137709.article


Sparkplug

A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

Huzaar1

Citaat van: Oorlogsvis op 11/02/2020 | 16:07 uur
Op een real war ? ....het zullen Mali's en Afghanistans worden ..en zo is het altijd geweest de laatste jare
daar is een Tucano beter voor geschikt dan een F-35...

Die F-35 zijn voor het echte werk....dat hopelijk nooit gedaan hoeft te worden

Dat dacht ik toch niet, daar heeft de NAVO echt geen zin meer in en Europa al helemaal niet.
En Super Tucano´s, zo ken ik er nog wel een paar.
Pak een helicopter. De SOF Puma´s moeten al in de buurt komen, we zijn Nederland, de UK heeft dat niet eens.
"Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion" US secmindef - Jed Babbin"

Oorlogsvis

Citaat van: Huzaar1 op 11/02/2020 | 14:24 uur
Asjeblieft niet zeg. Laten we ons even focussen op het echte plaatje. Geen wikdwest avonturen in Afghanistan.
Op een real war ? ....het zullen Mali's en Afghanistans worden ..en zo is het altijd geweest de laatste jare
daar is een Tucano beter voor geschikt dan een F-35...

Die F-35 zijn voor het echte werk....dat hopelijk nooit gedaan hoeft te worden

Huzaar1

Asjeblieft niet zeg. Laten we ons even focussen op het echte plaatje. Geen wikdwest avonturen in Afghanistan.
"Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion" US secmindef - Jed Babbin"