By: Valerie Insinna
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. — This month, three
industry teams will hand over four different light attack aircraft to Air Force
pilots for a series of flight demonstrations to test just how well the aircraft
can prosecute targets on the ground while operating in austere desert
environments. Those that prove their mettle will move on until the next phase
of the experiment: a combat demonstration in the Middle East.
Specifically, planes could participate in the fight
against the Islamic State and other terrorist groups, Air Force Secretary
Heather Wilson told reporters Wednesday.
The Air Force won’t know for sure whether it will pursue
a combat demonstration until the experiment at Holloman Air Force Base is
finished. Then, the service will take the data it has collected and assess the
aircraft cost, capability and the manufacturer’s production capacity.
“That data is intended to inform strategic decisions. It
will also tell us whether we take this to the next step, to what we call a
combat experiment, and whether any of these aircraft are ready for that,”
Wilson said. “That combat experiment could take place early next year.”
Reporters headed to Holloman AFB on Wednesday to get a
glimpse of the four aircraft participating in the demo: the A-29 from Sierra
Nevada Corp. and Embraer, the AT-802L Longsword by L3 and Air Tractor, and the
AT-6 Wolverine and Scorpion jet, both by Textron......Read rest of article: HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment