Are Light Attack/ISR aircraft gaining momentum? By Luca Peruzzi
A long-waited programme for an armed overwatch platform was unveiled last February by the US Special Operations Command (US SOCOM) with an industry day invitation for a prototype and up to 75 aircraft. Š Iomax
The use in recent years of latest generation aircraft in permissive counter-insurgency environments imposed a heavy burden on the western and allied air forces. Since the beginning of the last decade, the US services, namely the US Air Force (USAF), have been looking for, testing and evaluating light attack/ armed reconnaissance platforms under different programmes, the main one being the Light Attack/Armed Reconnaissance (LAAR) also known as OA-X, and the more recent Light Attack Experiment (LAE). The USAF has experimented with light attack aircraft based on customized turboprop advanced trainers, crop-dusters and turbofan-equipped platforms to discover alternate, cost-effective options to deliver airpower and build partner capacity around the globe. After a long and protracted programme ending with a reduced scope, the USAF decided in October 2019 to buy two to three Textron Aviation AT-6 Wolverine to be used respectively by the Air Combat Command for continued testing and development of operational tactics and standard for exportable tactical networks that 4
EDR | March/April 2020
improve interoperability with international partners and the same number of Sierra Nevada Corporation/Embraer Defense & Security A-29 Super Tucano aircraft for the Air Force Special Operations Command to develop an instructor pilot programme and meet increased partner nation requests for light attack assistance. Last February however, also due to Congress pressure, a long-waited requirement for an armed overwatch platform capable to provide the Special Operations Forces (SOF) with a deployable and sustainable manned aircraft system to fulfil Close Air Support (CAS), Precision Strike, and SOF Intelligence/ Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) in austere and permissive environments was unveiled by the US Special Operations Command (US SOCOM). In a preliminary stage, the programme to demonstrate an armed overwatch prototype could lead to the procurement of 75 aircraft, opening the way to the participation of multiple manufacturers and system providers, depending on the stillto-be unveiled requirements when this article was written.
