combat aircraft

TAKING A LOOK BEHIND THE HEADLINES

TAKING A LOOK BEHIND THE HEADLINES

BYBY ROBERT BECKHUSEN ROBERT BECKHUSEN

OA-X

THE NEXT PHASE

I

N MAY 2018, the US Air Force

began the second phase of its Light

Attack Experiment, also known

as OA-X, testing out turboprop

light attack aircraft at Holloman

Air Force Base, New Mexico. This

may eventually lead the  ying branch

to purchase 300 such machines for

supporting ground troops in areas

where air defenses are minimal or

non-existent.

These aircraft would not survive in a

war between great powers and  fth-

generation jets but would ply their trade

in tackling insurgencies and guerrilla

con icts in the developing world. Here,

light and maneuverable aircraft armed

with cannon, rockets and small bombs

can  y low and close to the ground

and hunt targets better than faster-

moving aircraft.

During the USAF’s  rst phase of the

experiments in 2017, it narrowed four

competing aircraft down to two: the

Textron Aviation AT-6B Wolverine and

Sierra Nevada and Embraer’s A-

Super Tucano. The second part of the

demonstration — which will last three

months — is focusing on networking,

logistics and interoperability with allied

air forces, along with working out issues

with weapons and sensors.

‘If we can get light attack aircraft

operating in permissive combat

environments, we can alleviate the

demand on our fourth- and  fth-

generation aircraft, so they can be

training for the high-end  ght they were

made for’, Lt Gen Arnie Bunch of the

USAF’s o ce for acquisition said.

The Wolverine and Super Tucano are

both good aircraft. The Wolverine is a

variant of the T-6 Texan II — used by

the USAF, the US Navy and a number

of allies for basic pilot training — with

improved datalinks, sensors, a more

powerful PT6A-68D engine and added

weapons capabilities. The Super Tucano,

with its origins in Brazil, has seen

extensive combat duties since 2006

with the Colombian Air Force targeting

the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces

of Colombia) rebel group. It’s also

experienced a great deal of combat use

in Brazilian Air Force hands.

Fighting yesterday’s war?

The OA-X program is subject to a debate

within the USAF, not only over technical

speci cs but what it will mean for the

service’s direction for the future — and

where it should anticipate future threats.

One of the criticisms most often heard is

that funds spent on a light attack aircraft

will detract from acquiring more of the

fast-moving jet  ghters and bombers

needed to successfully wage and win

a war with a near-peer adversary state

such as Russia and China, both of which

are building up advanced air defenses of

their own.

‘The success of OA-X will inherently be

limited as it was conceived to support

the US military as it was operating nine

years ago in Afghanistan’, USAF Maj Adam

Chitwood, a B-1B Lancer instructor pilot,

wrote in November 2017 for the website

War on the Rocks. ‘The world has since

moved on, and warfare with it. The threat

environment has changed, domestic

politics have changed, and the air force

has changed. The OA-X answers a simple

question of how to reduce the cost of

CAS [close air support] against an enemy

which  ghts at a lower price point than

the United States.’

Chitwood makes a good point and

quoted an un-named USAF general

who argued the service threw too many

aircraft and precision-guided Joint

Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) at so-

called Islamic State (IS) during the war

in Iraq and Syria, which was costly and

ine cient. This matches data analyzed

by the investigative journalism group

Above: The

AT-6 Wolverine

participating in

the evaluation

at Holloman in

August last year.

USAF/Ethan D.

Wagner

Right: The

A-29 is the

Wolverine’s sole

competitor as

the Light Attack

Experiment

moves into

phase two. USAF/

Christopher Okula

14 July 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net

14-17 The Briefing C.indd 14 22/05/2018 17: