Light Attack providers get second chance with SOCOM

Sierra Nevada Corp., Textron Aviation, Air Tractor, and Leidos will get a second chance to provide light attack aircraft to the Pentagon. SOCOM wants the aircraft for close air support; armed intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; strike coordination and reconnaissance; and airborne forward air control. Competitors have already submitted paperwork for the first round. SOCOM plans to visit each competitor to take a closer look at each entrant before selecting aircraft for the flying demonstration. Each selected company will receive $4M, with up to four selected. Ultimately, SOCOM wants 75 aircraft over 5-7 years.

Multiple companies who faced off in the Air Force’s light attack experiment will again compete for a similar contract from U.S. Special Operations Command.

Sierra Nevada Corp., Textron Aviation, Air Tractor, and Leidos are offering aircraft for a three-phase armed overwatch competition that ends with live-fly demonstrations in November. That demo follows the Air Force’s nearly three-year light attack effort that ultimately fell short of a full-fledged buy.

SOCOM Acquisition Executive James Smith told reporters May 13 the command is very pleased with industry’s response so far. He declined to say how many proposals SOCOM received.

“We’ve got a good competition going,” Smith said. “There are sufficient vendors out there that have a product that they can offer that we’ll be able to put into production in fairly short order.”

www.airforcemag.com...

I’m surprised Airtractor is still in the game, the only thing going for it is it’s cheap price tag. it’s build similar to a homebuilt aircraft, and flimsy, keep it a cropduster. That Beech AT-6 is purpose built, and IMO much better quality.

a reply to: 38181

Honestly, I'll be surprised if it doesn't end up with the A-29 and AT-6. I love the Bronco II, but Embraer and Sierra Nevada just have more name power behind them. As much as they say it doesn't, that carries weight in the final decision with more than a few of these contracts.

a reply to: 38181

Yeah but the idea of a ground attack/COIN platform based on a friggin Air Tractor is like something out of Mad Max or a Miyazaki movie and for that I'll always have a soft spot for it.

I'm really surprised that SOCOM isn't interested in something like the OV-10's. I'll spare you my opinion on where this is all headed.
Bronco II, btw, has nothing to do with the NA/Rockwell Bronco. It's just the South African AHRLAC with a jazzy name.

a reply to: RadioRobert

It's still a neat little plane.

a reply to: Zaphod58

I honestly find all the entries kinda disappointing and depressing from the standpoint of these all being older aircraft that don't take advantage of any of the new technologies etc we could have in something like this.

Also, it kinda sucks that these will get legacy engines when they're right in the middle of developing next gen turboshafts for our rotary wing fleet.

a reply to: Zaphod58

I agree. I believe one of the requirements the last time Bid was for a retractable landing gear. The Tuscano and Texan 2 are phenomenal platforms. Would do circles around that AT802U. Plus the AT doesn’t have an ejection seat. I just don’t see it being very quick to out run anything. That T-6ii on the other hand is a friggin rocket.

SOCOM has selected the AT-802U Sky Warden.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Special Operations Command on Monday announced it has selected the AT-802U Sky Warden, made by L3Harris Technologies and Air Tractor, for its Armed Overwatch program.

The indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract will be worth up to $3 billion, L3Harris said in a release Monday. The initial program contract award is for $170 million.

Air Tractor is an aircraft manufacturer from Olney, Texas, that typically makes firefighting aircraft and agricultural planes such as crop dusters.

Initial production of the Sky Warden will take place at Air Tractor’s facility in Olney. L3Harris will then modify those planes into the Armed Overwatch mission configuration at its Tulsa, Oklahoma modification center, beginning in 2023. L3Harris said work will also take place at its other sites in Greenville, Rockwall and Waco, Texas and Nashville, Tennessee.

www.defensenews.com...

Drop bombs and fertilise your neighbours potato farm in same mission...

The plane looks like a cropduster. But the cockpit is nice.

originally posted by: 38181
I’m surprised Airtractor is still in the game, the only thing going for it is it’s cheap price tag. it’s build similar to a homebuilt aircraft, and flimsy, keep it a cropduster. That Beech AT-6 is purpose built, and IMO much better quality.

It's a forgiving design, easy to fly, with the right loading it's capable of taking off from small unimproved runways or grass strips and it's easy to maintain.

Don't confuse looks and high tech with functionality.

a reply to: grey580

Because it is. The AT-802 Air Tractor is an incredibly robust design that flies many different missions, including crop dusting and fire fighting.

a reply to: Zaphod58

If the wings fold back. Could it be towed behind vehicles to different areas and used when needed?

a reply to: grey580

Definitely no. There’s a big chunk of metal plates with several huge bolts that join the two wings together under the hopper. It’s definitely not like WW2 aircraft with folding wings.

I still think the T6ii is a wayyy better platform and much much faster.

Crop dusters are tough.They are designed to fly "through" power line hits and survive.