{"id":26127,"date":"2019-01-18T19:45:15","date_gmt":"2019-01-18T19:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/01\/18\/the-air-forces-plans-to-begin-a-light-attack-aircraft-competition-are-now-deferred-indefinitely\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:10:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:10:07","slug":"the-air-forces-plans-to-begin-a-light-attack-aircraft-competition-are-now-deferred-indefinitely","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/01\/18\/the-air-forces-plans-to-begin-a-light-attack-aircraft-competition-are-now-deferred-indefinitely\/","title":{"rendered":"US Air Force\u2019s plan to launch light-attack aircraft competition is now deferred indefinitely"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 The start of a competition to<a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/air\/2017\/08\/10\/light-attack-demo-gives-off-the-shelf-planes-the-chance-to-show-off\/\" target=_blank> provide light-attack aircraft<\/a> for the U.S. Air Force has been postponed for the foreseeable future, as the service decides the way forward for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2017\/08\/10\/whats-the-air-forces-next-step-after-its-light-attack-demo-a-combat-demonstration\/\" target=_blank>additional experiments<\/a>, the Air Force\u2019s No. 2 civilian said Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/air\/2017\/08\/08\/industry-eyeing-opportunity-to-sell-light-attack-planes-tech-to-socom\/\" target=\"_blank\">started evaluating light-attack plane offerings<\/a> in 2017 and was set to release a request for proposals in December 2018 to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2018\/07\/03\/air-force-cancels-remaining-light-attack-experiment-flights-but-effort-to-continue\/\" target=\"_blank\">potentially lead to a program of record<\/a>. But the service is not ready to commit to a program just yet, and wants to continue the experimentation phase, Under Secretary of the Air Force Matt Donovan told reporters after an Air Force Association event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;We&#8217;re going to broaden the scope a little bit,\u201d he said, potentially alluding for the possibility of new aircraft types to enter the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/12\/18\/start-of-air-forces-light-attack-plane-competition-pushed-back-until-next-year\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/light-attack_web2.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Start of US Air Force\u2019s light-attack plane competition pushed back until next year<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Those wondering if the Air Force will start a new program of record will have to wait a little longer.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Asked if this meant the two aircraft positioned by the Air Force as potential contenders for a contract \u2014 the Sierra Nevada Corp.-Embraer A-29 Super Tucano, and the Textron AT-6 Wolverine \u2014 were no longer in the running, Donovan responded: \u201cWe\u2019re not excluding anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force\u2019s decision is a somewhat surprising one. The light-attack experiment began with four aircraft involved in flight tests at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2017\/07\/19\/textron-sierra-nevada-prep-for-oa-x-experiment-at-us-air-force-base\/\" target=_blank>the A-29 and AT-6<\/a>, but also Textron\u2019s Scorpion jet and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/air\/2017\/07\/31\/air-tractor-and-l3-join-oa-x-experiment-with-the-at-802l-longsword\/\" target=_blank>L3\u2019s AT-802L Longsword<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The AT-6 and A-29 moved onto the second phase of experiments in 2018, which were mostly centered around the planes\u2019 maintainability and network capability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the Air Force put out a draft RFP later that year, the solicitation stated that Textron and the SNC-Embraer partnership were \u201cthe only firms that appear to possess the capability necessary to meet the requirement within the Air Force\u2019s time frame without causing an unacceptable delay in meeting the needs of the warfighter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the Air Force is considering alternative aircraft, it\u2019s unclear what requirements are driving that search or whether a new entrant has caught the service\u2019s eye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/farnborough\/2018\/07\/19\/could-one-of-these-foreign-aircraft-be-the-air-forces-next-light-attack-plane\/\" target=\"_blank\">Some foreign companies<\/a>, namely South Africa\u2019s Paramount Group and Czech aerospace firm Aero Vodochody, have expressed interest in competing for U.S. light-attack aircraft contracts. And it\u2019s possible the T-X trainer jet, for which the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/breaking-news\/2018\/09\/27\/reuters-air-force-awards-9b-contract-to-boeing-for-next-training-jet\/\" target=\"_blank\">Air Force chose Boeing<\/a> to build, could be modified for a light-attack role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But for the last six months, Air Force acquisition officials have firmly suggested the A-29 or AT-6 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2018\/08\/06\/the-light-attack-aircraft-competition-will-be-down-to-two-competitors\/\" target=_blank>would be the only options under consideration going forward<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/05\/17\/light-attack-experiment-pits-at-6-against-a-29-in-high-stakes-matchup\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3654076.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Light-attack experiment pits AT-6 against A-29 in high-stakes matchup<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Textron and the Sierra Nevada Corp.-Embraer team can expect a fast-paced couple of months at Holloman Air Force Base.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe whole way we got to where we\u2019re at, we put out an invitation to participate, and we only had two that met all of the criteria that we were looking for,\u201d Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch, the service\u2019s top uniformed acquisition official, said in July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe experimented with those, and they performed well enough that we did another phase, and those are the only two that we invited in [for phase two]. So at this point right now I\u2019m seeing it as a competition between two airplanes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the Air Force is seeking more data from the current entrants or wants to conduct further demonstrations, the exact nature of those future experiments are also unclear \u2014 though Donovan said more information about the path forward would be released this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although Friday\u2019s announcement doesn\u2019t shut a door on the light-attack aircraft program, it does highlight the difficulties of rapid acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/05\/18\/light-attack-aircraft-why-stop-there\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4095422.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Warthog replacement anyone? Former Air Force officers say to think beyond light attack aircraft<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">An attack aircraft revival may be coming soon to the Air Force.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2016, Gen. Mike Holmes, then the Headquarters U.S. Air Force\u2019s top requirements official and now the head of Air Combat Command, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/afa-air-space\/2016\/09\/19\/exclusive-air-force-mulls-flight-demo-for-possible-light-attack-aircraft-buy\/\" target=_blank>spoke with Defense News about the prospect <\/a>of dedicating funds to flight test a range of off-the-shelf light-attack planes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The thought was that buying a low-cost, easy-to-maintain aircraft could effectively accomplish low-end missions in the Middle East at a lower expense than other Air Force planes, and that buying several hundred of such aircraft could also help the service absorb and train more pilots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein repeatedly spoke about seeing a potential light-attack aircraft program as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/singapore-airshow\/2018\/02\/06\/top-us-air-force-general-hopes-to-increase-asias-interest-in-light-attack-aircraft\/\" target=_blank>a way to increase interoperability<\/a> with air forces that couldn\u2019t afford an F-15 or F-16, but who would benefit from commonality with American-operated platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/dubai-air-show\/2017\/11\/11\/during-visit-to-middle-east-us-air-force-officials-talk-up-light-attack-aircraft\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3654070.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">During visit to Middle East, U.S. Air Force officials talk up light attack aircraft<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The U.S. Air Force hasn\u2019t determined whether it will continue its experiments with light attack aircraft,  but that didn\u2019t stop the service\u2019s number-two general from touting the potential benefits in a speech to Middle Eastern and other international air chiefs.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than two years later, Donovan said the Air Force is still learning, and hinted that perhaps there was not enough buy-in among international partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDid we meet the cost targets that we\u2019re aiming for? What\u2019s the market out there for coalition partners? Are there a lot of folks interested in that, or is there something else?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Air Force believes it needs to conduct further experiments, its undersecretary has revealed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":28443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":7,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"4":{"categories":["your-air-force","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","left-column","home","middle-column"],"primary_category":"your-air-force"}}},"categories":[7,160,12,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3384],"class_list":["post-26127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-daily-news-roundup","category-industry","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"O3VHV45BRNAPTONRTDYMU72ZGE","arc_canonical_url":"\/air\/2019\/01\/18\/the-air-forces-plans-to-begin-a-light-attack-aircraft-competition-are-now-deferred-indefinitely\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>US Air Force\u2019s plan to launch light-attack aircraft competition is now deferred indefinitely - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Air Force believes it needs to conduct further experiments, its undersecretary has revealed.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/01\/18\/the-air-forces-plans-to-begin-a-light-attack-aircraft-competition-are-now-deferred-indefinitely\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US Air Force\u2019s plan to launch light-attack aircraft competition is now deferred indefinitely\" 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