OA-X "light attack" programma en ontwikkelingen

[Sparkplug]

Congress Wants USAF, SOCOM to Work Together on Light Attack

https://www.airforcemag.com/congress-wants-usaf-socom-to-work-together-on-light-attack/


Lt. Col. Terrance Keithley, right, a test pilot for the 416th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards AFB, Calif., receives pre-flight briefing information from an instructor pilot for the Beechcraft AT-6 experimental aircraft on Aug. 1, 2017. Air Force photo by Ethan D. Wagner.

[Sparkplug]

How AFSOC Plans to Use Its Light Attack Aircraft

http://airforcemag.com/Features/Pages/2019/November%202019/How-AFSOC-Plans-to-Use-Its-Light-Attack-Aircraft.aspx


​An A-29 Super Tucano taxis in, April 26, 2018, at Moody AFB, Ga. Air Force photo by A1C Erick Requadt.

[Sparkplug]

Air Force Releases Light-Attack RFP for Small Numbers of AT-6s, A-29s

http://airforcemag.com/Features/Pages/2019/October%202019/Air-Force-Releases-Light-Attack-RFP-for-Small-Numbers-of-AT-6s-A-29s.aspx


​USAF plans to purchase two to three of both the Textron AT-6B Wolverine (shown at top) and the Sierra Nevada-Embraer A-29 Super Tucano to continue work on the light-attack aircraft effort. Air Force photos.

[Harald]

House Members Seek NDAA Language to Force Light-Attack Aircraft Buy

Phil Clay, a former Navy test pilot for the Imminent Fury/Combat Dragon close air support experiments, says the Air Force should purchase "at least a wing" (20 planes) of the Light-Attack Aircraft for SOCOM and the so-called foreign internal defense (FID) mission to combat insurgencies. 

A handful of congressmen are pushing hard for the House-Senate Conference Committee on the 2020 NDAA to include a provision that would transfer procurement authority for the Light-Attack Aircraft (LAA) to Special Operations Command if the Air Force does not proceed with a buy.

"My frustration is almost palpable at why it is taking so long to get this platform out where the warfighters need it," Rep. Mike Waltz, a retired Green Beret and a member of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), told a Mitchell Institute briefing today. "In that vein, if the Air Force can't or doesn't want to or isn't moving fast enough to get it out there, then we've introduced legislation to shift that authority over to Special Operations Command."

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https://breakingdefense.com/2019/09/house-members-seek-ndaa-language-to-force-light-attack-aircraft-buy/

[Sparkplug]

RIAT: Wolverine hopes for US Air Force certification boost

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/riat-wolverine-hopes-for-us-air-force-certification-459798/

[Harald]

Archangel light attack aircraft proliferates, supports USAF training   ( de USAF gebruikt dus een aantal Archangel's in oefeningen en opleiding van grondtroepen in CAS )


The IOMAX Archangel has been used to train USAF JTACs

The US Air Force (USAF) has become a customer for contract close air support (CAS) training using the IOMAX Archangel light attack aircraft, which appears to be proliferating for CAS roles.

The converted crop-duster aircraft is suited to the CAS training role in part because of its USD882 per-flying-hour cost, low compared with fast jets, according to Seamus Flatley, IOMAX's vice-president for business development.

In a presentation at a recent IQPC CAS Summit in London, Flatley told delegates that IOMAX, under subcontract to Textron, supplied an Archangel for 'dry' CAS currency training for joint terminal attack controllers (JTACs) from the USAF's 118th Air Support Operations Squadron for the first time during a series of exercises at a range in North Carolina, staged between May and September 2018.

The predecessor Border Patrol Aircraft (BPA), an IOMAX version of the Air Tractor AT-802U, has been similarly exploited for dry CAS training by the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF). Aircraft of this type were contributed by the RJAF, alongside some of its F-16A fast jets and AH-1F attack helicopters, to an in-country exercise organised by a Canadian-led multinational mobile training team in 2017 for Jordanian Armed Forces JTACs.

The RJAF has a total of six modified ex-United Arab Emirates (UAE) Defence Force AT-802U Block I BPAs, which were originally delivered by IOMAX equipped for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions only. However, the company has since furnished these with a full (Block II) weapon delivery capability, incorporating the weapon computing system, pylons, and improved avionics that it first introduced aboard the Archangel. The RJAF also received four L3 Longsword AT-802L aircraft originally built to fulfill a Yemeni requirement, but these were in an unarmed configuration and are understood to have not been kept in a flyable condition.

https://www.janes.com/article/89273/archangel-light-attack-aircraft-proliferates-supports-usaf-training

Archangel: Crop Duster to Tank Buster
http://www.iomax.net/in-the-news/archangel-crop-duster-to-tank-buster/

[Sparkplug]

Air Force to give Sierra Nevada Corp. a sole-source contract for light-attack planes, but Textron will also get an award

https://www.defensenews.com/2019/05/08/air-force-to-give-sierra-nevada-corp-a-sole-source-contract-for-light-attack-planes-but-textron-will-be-getting-an-award-too/

[Harald]

The US Air Force is requesting $35 million from the US Congress to continue its light attack experiment in 2019 with the purchase of several aircraft from Sierra Nevada-Embraer and Textron.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/usaf-wants-35-million-to-continue-light-attack-test-456619/

[Sparkplug]

Fixed wing + turbojet

In dat geval hebben ze eigenlijk de vervanger van de A-37 Dragonfly (light-attack).

[Harald]

Het OA-X programma is t.b.v. light-attack en niet ter vervanging van de A-10. Voor een echte (dedicated) A-10 vervanger zouden ze het A-X programma moeten opstarten. De A-10 is ook nooit voor light-attack ontworpen.

However, not all nations could want a turboprop aircraft like the A-29 or AT-6.

“Some countries, it actually would be better to have an unmanned option. Some countries, [it] would be better to have a rotary-wing option," Goldfein said. “Some countries would do fixed wing, but [only with a] turbojet [engine]" instead of a turboprop.

Fixed wing + turbojet

A-10 is idd geen light attack, maar het programma kan zo uitgroeien naar een A-10 vervanging.
Aan de andere kant kan het ook zo zijn dat de Boeing/Saab trainer een door ontwikkling/upgrade krijgt naar een type voor licht attack.
De toekomst zal het uitwijzen, maar goed het programma wordt/ is wel één met een lange adem.

[Sparkplug]

The Air Force's light attack experiment is set to get a whole lot bigger     (...  misschien toch nog een A-10 NG ? ..)

US Air Force's light-attack experiment could mix in drones and helos

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https://www.defensenews.com/newsletters/2019/01/30/the-air-forces-light-attack-experiment-could-be-expanded-to-feature-drones-helicopters-and-more-aircraft/

Het OA-X programma is t.b.v. light-attack en niet ter vervanging van de A-10. Voor een echte (dedicated) A-10 vervanger zouden ze het A-X programma moeten opstarten. De A-10 is ook nooit voor light-attack ontworpen.

[Harald]

The Air Force's light attack experiment is set to get a whole lot bigger     (...  misschien toch nog een A-10 NG ? ..)

US Air Force's light-attack experiment could mix in drones and helos

The U.S. Air Force's light-attack experiment is set to get a lot bigger, with the service considering adding drones, helicopters and more sophisticated aircraft to the mix in the future, the service's top general told Defense News.

"What is the right mix of fixed wing, rotary wing, manned and unmanned that can do the business of light attack?" Goldfein said in an exclusive Jan. 26 interview. "What is the right mix and how do we bring allies and partners in right now with us — not just periodically parachute in — but how do we expand this experiment to bring them into the tent with us?"

While the Air Force is still finalizing its strategy on light attack, Goldfein's comments hint that a lack of interest by partner nations may have shaped the decision not to press ahead with a program of record late last year.

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However, not all nations could want a turboprop aircraft like the A-29 or AT-6.

"Some countries, it actually would be better to have an unmanned option. Some countries, [it] would be better to have a rotary-wing option," Goldfein said. "Some countries would do fixed wing, but [only with a] turbojet [engine]" instead of a turboprop.

https://www.defensenews.com/newsletters/2019/01/30/the-air-forces-light-attack-experiment-could-be-expanded-to-feature-drones-helicopters-and-more-aircraft/

[Harald]

No Light Attack Planes Any Time Soon   (... van uitstel komt afstel... ik denk dat dit project helemaal niets doorgaat. )

The Air Force won't issue a Request For Information on possible Light Attack aircraft, originally scheduled to come out December, in favor of doing a lot more experiments, Air Force Undersecretary Matt Donovan told reporters this morning. The service has been dithering for over a decade about whether to buy propeller-driven aircraft for affordable close air support in counterinsurgencies, where the absence of enemy fighters and anti-aircraft missiles means fighter jets are often overkill.

"I wouldn't expect an RFI any time soon," Donovan told us. He said the service would "broaden the scope (of the experiment) a little bit."

The key to this policy change may be allies, who've hoped for a cheaper plane to use for counterterrorism and counter insurgency (COIN) operations. If the US buys the plane and allies do too, the price falls for everybody. While he didn't expand on what the allies have said they want, it seems clear the various allies who observed the experiments told the Air Force the planes and weapons so far tested just didn't quite provide what they were looking for. It's also possible that there's a debate within the Pentagon about whether Special Operations Command or the Air Force should buy and fly the planes.

A year ago, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson announced that the service had placed a $2.4 billion placeholder in the 2019 budget to buy Light Attack Aircraft over the next five years. But Donovan's comments this morning appear to make it unlikely we'll see that much in the budget that may — or may not– be unveiled next month.

The service did not plan to buy planes in 2019, but to rather work with allies to build Concepts of Operations and assess the number of planes both allies and the United States should buy. Then the service would nail down how many to buy and when to buy them, Wilson told us last February.

The Air Force had decided to forgo spending $100 million on a combat experiment in 2019 and further test Textron's AT-6 and the Sierra Nevada/Embraer A-29. (Long-time Breaking Defense readers will recall this has been going on since 2011: Here's our comparison of the two planes.)

Donovan mentioned during his talk at the Air Force Association headquarters that the release of the 2020 budget request may be delayed due to the government shutdown. No details were forthcoming since no one knows what will or won't happen in an increasingly chaotic Washington.

https://breakingdefense.com/2019/01/no-light-attack-planes-any-time-soon-air-force-undersecretary/

[Sparkplug]

Start of Air Force's light attack plane competition pushed back until next year   ... nog veel is onzeker in dit programma, het kan zo weer stop gezet worden. Volgens mij kunnen ze beter een volger voor de A10 gaan ontwikkelen. 

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https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/12/18/start-of-air-forces-light-attack-plane-competition-pushed-back-until-next-year/

Als er al een budget voor een mogelijke A-10 opvolger mogelijk is. In een ander topic staan een aantal links over de USAF en toekomstige ontwikkelingen (o.a. PCA, B-21 e.d.). Laten ze eerst zich bezig houden met dat wat echt nodig is.

[Harald]

Start of Air Force's light attack plane competition pushed back until next year   ... nog veel is onzeker in dit programma, het kan zo weer stop gezet worden. Volgens mij kunnen ze beter een opvolger voor de A10 gaan ontwikkelen. 

If the Air Force moves forward on a proposed initiative to buy light attack planes, it won't happen by the end of 2018.

The service intended to put out a final request for proposals this month for a potential light attack aircraft program, but the date has now slipped into 2019, an Air Force official confirmed Tuesday.

"The Air Force does not anticipate release of the final Light Attack Request for Proposal by the end of the calendar year as we complete additional analysis," said Air Force spokeswoman Capt. Hope Cronin in an emailed response to Defense News.

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https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/12/18/start-of-air-forces-light-attack-plane-competition-pushed-back-until-next-year/