Finally!….
The US Air Force is looking to bring on line a propeller light attack aircraft…..
One could be surprised at the effort to actually get something that isn’t a jet fast burner….
A light attack aircraft could compliment the A-10 in providing air cover to ground troops that would be able to go low and slow and carry a lot of ordinance ….
image of A-29….Dfense Aerea & Naval and AT-6B Wolverine….Flicker
Sierra Nevada/Embraer’s A-29 Super Tucano and Textron Aviation’s AT-6B Wolverine are facing off over the sands of Holloman AFB, New Mexico, for the second phase of the U.S. Air Force’s Light Attack Experiment.
Over the next three months, pilots will fly the Super Tucano and AT-6B in a second evaluation designed to gather additional information about the aircraft’s capabilities in a light attack role, as well as interoperability with partner nations, the Air Force says. The event kicked off May 7.
The first phase took place in August 2017 at Holloman AFB, with four models of light attack aircraft, including the A-29 and AT-6 as well as Textron’s Scorpion jet and L-3-Air Tractor’s AT-802L Longsword. The goal of the high-profile experiment was to evaluate the four off-the-shelf aircraft for the light-attack counterterrorism mission ahead of a potential procurement.
Now the Air Force is taking the next step toward possibly buying a fleet of 100 aircraft or more to fight terrorists in the Middle East….