{"id":53792,"date":"2019-05-17T12:00:09","date_gmt":"2019-05-17T12:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/05\/17\/us-special-ops-command-at-odds-with-air-force-over-need-for-light-attack-aircraft\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:00:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:00:09","slug":"us-special-ops-command-at-odds-with-air-force-over-need-for-light-attack-aircraft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/05\/17\/us-special-ops-command-at-odds-with-air-force-over-need-for-light-attack-aircraft\/","title":{"rendered":"US special ops command at odds with Air Force over need for light-attack aircraft"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Special Operations Command is bullish at the prospect of buying a light-attack aircraft, according to the command\u2019s top leaders \u2014 a marked contrast from the U.S. Air Force, which wants to expand the effort to other types of platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force this year postponed a competition to provide light-attack aircraft<\/a>. The service had evaluated offerings in 2017 and was set to release a request for proposals at the end of 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plan now is to continue with experimentation and broaden the scope of a possible program that might include rotorcraft, fixed-wing and unmanned options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But while the Air Force considers whether it needs a light-attack capability, SOCOM Commander Gen. Richard Clarke said a light-attack platform is essential for its forces and the mission it serves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLight attack is a need for SOCOM, and I think it\u2019s a need for our nation,\u201d Clarke said during a House Intelligence and Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee hearing in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne, it will help our special operators on the ground for identification and protection from all our enemy forces,\u201d he said. \u201cSecond reason, as we look at the foreign internal defense of other nations, there are many nations that are now developing their own air forces, and in many cases they are light attack.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Special operators train foreign militaries as one of its central missions, particularly to counter terrorism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe most cost-effective [counterterrorism] effort is the one done by our partners and allies if we can help them be successful, and many of them simply don\u2019t have the resources to put into fifth-generation fighters,\u201d Mark Mitchell, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, said at the hearing. \u201cFrom our strategic perspective, we think the flight hours for those fifth-generation fighters are best spent preparing and deterring our near-peer competitors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Air Force leaders are more tentative about the need for a light-attack capability. While Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein has spoken about how a light-attack plane would allow the service to accomplish low-end missions more cheaply, he\u2019s also said the service won\u2019t divert funds from priorities like the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, B-21 bomber or KC-46 tanker to pay for a light-attack program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has also said the Air Force\u2019s experimentation campaign must be expanded to accommodate the needs of allies and partner nations who might benefit from a light-attack capability \u2014 as well as greater interoperability with the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“What is the right mix and how do we bring allies and partners in right now with us \u2014 not just periodically parachute in \u2014 but how do we expand this experiment to bring them into the tent with us?\u201d Goldfein told Defense News in January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the next several years, the Air Force plans to buy a small number of light-attack aircraft and deploy them to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada \u2014 where Red Flag and a number of other high-profile training exercises take place \u2014 and Hurlburt Field, Florida, the home of Air Force Special Operations Command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this month, the service released a presolicitation stating its intent<\/a> to buy two to three A-29s from Sierra Nevada Corp. and Embraer by the end of the fiscal year. It plans to make a similar procurement of Textron\u2019s AT-6 during the same time frame, an Air Force spokeswoman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it doesn\u2019t plan to start a light-attack program of record until at least 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several lawmakers seem intent on preventing the Air Force from walking back on bringing additional light-attack capabilities online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is my position there\u2019s still a need for it though because F-35, F-22s are high-end,\u201d Nebraska Republican Rep. Don Bacon said. \u201cWe need something [in a] permissive environment that\u2019s cheaper to operate and more efficient to operate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., said: \u201cWhile we, of course, as a nation need things that fly far, fast and high, we need things that fly low, armored, and can loiter and can land in places like West Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t