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2017-06-08

US OA-X Draws Interest From Industry Giants

The United States Air Force (USAF) is calling for aircraft to participate in a low-cost attack experiment known as OA-X : Capability Assessment of Non-Developmental Light Attack Platforms.

During the 2017 Air Force Association Air Warfare Symposium, the USAF Acting Secretary Lisa S. Disbrow stressed that the USAF not only faces an aging inventory (an average aircraft age of 27 years), but lacks the requisite aircraft numbers. Whereas Operation Desert Storm had an inventory of 8,600, this now stands at 5,500 aircraft. This is a critical issue because in Ms Disbrow’s words: ‘In a fight, quantity has a quality all of its own.’

USAF is seeking to augment and improve the use of experimentation and prototyping as pathways to identify new operational concepts and capabilities which can be implemented rapidly and affordably. Hence, the OA-X experiment is part of the USAF’s push to acquire new low-cost, non-developmental light attack aircraft. The strategy is to reduce fighter pilot training costs and accelerate pilot seasoning for close air support and diverse missions in permissive and semi-permissive environments. The OA-X hopes to accomplish those objectives while preserving and extending the service life of other jet fleets.

The Pentagon has long debated the idea of a light-attack aircraft to reduce wear and tear on more advanced fighters and cut operating expense. They even deployed Vietnam-era propeller-driven planes to Iraq in 2015 to evaluate performance against Islamic State as an enemy lacking hi-tech air defense. Aircraft like Lockheed’s F-35 and Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet would still form the backbone of the U.S. fighter fleet for missions in contested environments, as well as matching the sophisticated planes of China and Russia.

To the aerospace world, it comes as little surprise that USAF has settled on Textron’s Scorpion jet and the AT-6 Wolverine turboprop, along with Embraer’s A-29 Super Tucano, built by Brazilian firm Embraer with Sierra Nevada as the U.S. prime contractor. While Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and IOMAX continue to pursue a wait-and-see policy here.

The first set of demonstrations will be held this July at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. As yet, no formal requirement exists for light attack aircraft, so let’s take a look at the contenders for the USAF OA-X Experiment.

Embraer with A-29 Super Tucano

The Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) is partnered with Embraer Defense & Security (SNC) for participation in this experimental programme. They will provide the A-29 Super Tucano, a highly efficient light air support (LAS) aircraft with a USAF Military Type Certificate. The OA-X assessment begins in July at New Mexico’s Holloman Air Force Base.

‘The A-29 is uniquely suited for training and seasoning fighter pilots,’ says Jackson Schneider, President and CEO of Embraer Defense & Security. ‘This means more highly-trained pilots more quickly and less expensively, while allowing other platforms to do the work they do best.’

Manufactured in Florida and used by a dozen air forces worldwide, the A-29 is a durable, versatile and powerful turboprop aircraft. The USAF-certified A-29 is combat-proven in Afghanistan and in theaters around the globe for a wide range of fighter and ISR missions.

At the heart of the A-29’s mission system are two latest-generation MDPs (Mission and Display Processors) which receive and process data from sensors, navigation and attack variables. They also manage a multitude of other tasks such as HOTAS (Hands-On Throttle and Stick) operations, in addition to symbology generation and presentation for HUD and CMFDs. Crew survivability is augmented through armoured protection and state-of-the-art provisions such as MAWS (Missile Approach Warning System) and RWR (Radar Warning Receiver), alongside chaff and flare dispensers.

The communication and navigation system resembles existing training applications. However, features such as PR (Positioning Reporting) and ALE (Automatic Link Establishment) allow automatic transmission of aircraft position and flight data to ground base. The aircraft is also equipped with an EGIR (Embedded GPS/INS & Radar Altimeter), while a two-axe military automatic pilot helps reduce pilot workload on long-endurance missions.

Tactical communications take place through a digital anti-interception and jamming V/UHF radio. Using a data-link modem, they can transmit frozen FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared) images, while in silent receiver mode the system can pick up data from ground stations or AEW&C aircraft without revealing its position. The HUD (Head Up Display), UFCP (Up Front Control Panel) and FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared) also supply digitised thermal imaging in two crew-selectable display modes, fully compatible with third-generation or better NVGs.

The aircraft wings carry two .50” machine guns (200 rounds each) with five hard points under the wing and fuselage allowing up to 1,500 kg of weapons for most configurations. Both the aircraft’s inboard and ventral stations are ‘wet’ for external fuel tanks, while the Super Tucano can be configured with additional underwing armament including two 20mm gun pods or .50” machine guns for major firepower increase in missions requiring air-to-ground saturation.

Outboard stations allow the loading and firing of AIM-9 class short-range air-air missiles, while each station can be loaded with Mk 81 or Mk 82 bombs, SBAT-70/19 or LAU-68 rocket launchers.

Textron - Scorpion Jet

Most light attack aircraft are variants on trainers, but the Textron Airland Scorpion is purposely designed as a new concept for ISR and light attack missions. The Scorpion offers better range than almost any other turboprop type at cruising speed, with a potential 450-knot dash, more than double the weapons load and an internal bay used for sensors, fuel or weapons.

The Scorpion’s interior payload bay is quickly reconfigurable, capable of being weaponised using a variety of weapon sets, including precision-guided munitions (PGMs) for precision strikes. The Scorpion offers the capacity to locate and exploit perishable intelligence, strike fleeting targets and bring tactical advantages to the most demanding missions. It has a composite airframe powered by twin turbofan engines with a tandem cockpit, retractable sensor mounts, internal payload bay and external stores carriage for precision and non-precision munitions. Its modular architecture also allows unencumbered future integration of multiple sensors and weapons, minimising non-recurring expenses.

Use of the bay should increase internal fuel range to 2 457 nm while keeping all six under-wing stations free to give the Scorpion a combat radius/time on station. It is potentially unmatched by anything but a fixed-wing gunship or certain top-end fighters which cost significantly more to own and operate but are unsuited to this mission set.

A good illustration of Scorpion power would be an ISR/precision attack mission in a low-intensity conflict context: 3.5 hours on station at 145 nm from base with four Hellfire class missiles and two laser-guided bombs. The reduced station time can extend the combat radius to more than 260 nm with the same weapons or weapons load, while a Scorpion on ground alert can reach a contact scene 100 nautical miles from its base in 18 minutes and stay on station for 3.9 hours. Finally, it has space and weight available for an air-to-air radar compatible with air policing, while the design allows for a cannon in the internal bay instead of a sensor pack or fuel.

On its first weapons exercise in 2016, the Scorpion demonstrated close air support mission capability through the effective deployment of three widely used weapon systems. System design, integration and flight test coordination were achieved in less than three months in coordination with the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) organization and the 586th Flight Test Squadron from HAFB.

All weapon types performed flawlessly, including Hydra-70 unguided 2.75-inch rockets, BAE Systems’ Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) and AGM-114F Hellfire Missiles. The weapons were target guided using a ground-based laser designator system and an airborne laser on the Scorpion’s L-3 WESCAM’s MX-15Di sensor suite.

AT-6 Wolverine

The Beechcraft® AT-6 Wolverine is a multi-mission aircraft system designed to meet a wide variety of war-fighter needs with a world-class Lockheed Martin A-10C mission computer, CMC Esterline glass cockpit and the most powerful allied-compatible ISR and targeting suite available. Its L3 Wescam MX-15D multi-sensor suite, provides color and IR cameras, with a laser designator, illuminator and rangefinder.

In a world of unpredictability where is flexibility is critical, Beechcraft delivers robust purpose-built solutions for irregular warfare and counterinsurgency. Beechcraft’s AT-6 Light Attack and Armed Reconnaissance aircraft is purpose-built for the Light Attack and Armed Reconnaissance mission. It has leveraged millions of investment dollars in the U.S. Air Force’s T-6, A-10C and MC-12 platforms to guarantee lower costs to make the AT-6 available at a fraction of more traditionally priced combat aircraft.

Weapons Integration

The AT-6 Wolverine employs a broad range of weapons rarely matched by other light attack aircraft, demonstrating light attack capabilities and full compatibility with U.S. and NATO Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) systems.

The Wolverine’s impressive airspeed involves Mach envelope for carriage with employment of more external systems than other light attack aircraft. Seven hardpoints allow the AT-6 Wolverine more than thirteen general purpose and precision munitions for close air support and light attack missions. It has more than 66 standard load configurations as well as its non-standard asymmetric configurations making it the most versatile mission readiness in its class equipped with:

HMP-400 .50 caliber guns, MK-81, MK- 82 general purpose bombs, GBU-12, GBU-58 Paveway II laser-guided bombs, GBU-38 inertia-aided munitions, GCU-49, GCU-59 Enhanced Paveway II GPS/laser-guided bombs, APKWS 2.75”, TALON 2.75” and GATR 2.75 laser-guided rockets, AGM-114 Hellfire laser-guided missiles, and LUU-2 illuminate flares and MJU-7/10 flares.

Operating with a staggering array of weapons and external fuel carriage configurations, the AT-6 Wolverine gives air combatants vast flexibility to tailor weapons configurations as the first fixed-wing aircraft to employ 2.75” laser-guided rockets successfully.

First set of demonstrations

The first set of demonstrations will be held this July at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. As yet, no formal requirement exists for light attack aircraft.

Reference Text/Photo:www. nationalinterest.org,www.investors.com, www. txtav.com,www.textron.com, www.embraer.com

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