US Air Force seeks replacement for Warthog
To date, the United States Air Force has only one aircraft directly supporting infantry on the battlefield - A-10 Thunderbolt, also known as Warthog. These aircraft have repeatedly extended the life of the military service, and some of them will remain in the US Air Force until 2022 year. Since an equivalent replacement for the well-armored and well-armed A-10 attack aircraft was not developed, the US Department of Defense plans to use a light strike aircraft instead.
Initially, the US Air Force planned to purchase light strike aircraft with turboprop engines, but later a model with a jet engine entered the list of applicants. Four aircraft take part in the tests that began: Textron Scorpion, Embraer A-29 Super Tucano, Air Tractor AT-802L Longsword and Beechcraft AT-6 Wolverine. According to the results of tests that will last until August 31, the US Air Force will evaluate the capabilities of each of the aircraft, their cost and the production capabilities of development companies. It is planned to purchase about 300 light attack aircraft.
Scorpion made its first flight in December 2013 of the year, is a dual-use aircraft and can be used to attack ground targets or train pilots. The length of the aircraft is 13,3 m, the wingspan is 14,4 m, the maximum take-off weight is 9,6 t, while up to 2,8 t of ammunition can be placed at six points of suspension. The attack aircraft reaches speeds of up to 833 km / h, the range is 4400 km.
The Super Tucano is a lightweight turboprop attack aircraft produced by Embraer, a Brazilian company (the first prototype took off in the 1999 year). Initially, the Super Tucano was designed as a training aircraft, but was subsequently finalized and became operational. The pilot's cockpit is protected by Kevlar armor.
AT-802 is a series of agricultural aircraft manufactured by the American company Air Tractor. Later, based on this model, shock modifications were created, including the AT-802U, a light attack aircraft that had already been purchased by the armies of Colombia and the United Arab Emirates. AT-802L Longsword is a new AT-802 assault aircraft.
AT-6 Wolverine is a continuation of the line of light attack aircraft, which already includes models T-6A and T-6B. AT-6 was developed by Hawker Beechcraft as part of the LAS (Light Air Support) program of the US Air Force based on the Texan II training aircraft.
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