Textron sets its sights on US Air Force's light aircraft experimentTextron is chomping at the bit for the U.S. Air Force’s planned light attack aircraft demonstration, where it plans to show off the capabilities of the Textron AirLand Scorpion jet and Beechcraft AT-6.
The Air Force has yet to greenlight a program of record, but the service intends to invite industry to participate in flight experiments this summer at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. If the exercise goes well and companies are able to prove a business case, the service could embark on an light attack aircraft acquisition, or OA-X.
In an exclusive interview with Defense News, Textron officials said they see sales opportunities for at least two of its existing planes if the Air Force moves ahead with OA-X.
“We think this will be a complimentary capability to the Air Force’s CAS [close-air support] assets, and we agree with the Air Force that there is certainly a need,” said Jim Grant, Textron Aviation's senior vice president of military programs. “We believe we have at least two aircraft that are great candidates for OA-X, and so we’re actually very excited to see what the actual requirements are.”
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http://www.defensenews.com/articles/textron-sets-its-sights-on-air-forces-light-aircraft-experiment
