Sounds like USAF weenies are stalling, probably because they feel this is now beneath them, and they are all wanting to join Trump's new Space Farce. I say take that part of the budget and give it to US Army and USMC (light attack should be able to land on USMC helicopter carriers).
Maybe USA should just buy Su-25/28 from Georgian FSU factory! First time in history airplane bombs factory where it was built! :)
" In early August 2008, Russian Su-25s attacked the Tbilisi Aircraft Manufacturing plant, where the Su-25 is produced, dropping bombs on the factory's airfield.[47]"
SU-25/28 from Georgia, USSR today probably cheaper than a Cessna "light attack" will be after USAF weenies get done padding the expenses with US based factory.
How about ULTRA-light attack? sunflightcraft.com/en/paraplane_whatis1.php sure beats humping that backpack on foot. I'm pretty sure these can land on any terrain no problem as well as any paratrooper with the added advantage of being able to pick you spot and take-off again almost anywhere. Cheap, too.
What is a light attack plane? Article doesn't explain it.
Only thing I can guess is a cheap aircraft capable of bombing AA-less Jihadis in third world countries without costing billions of dollars to run. Isn't that roll fufilled by drones though?
Ethan Butler
yeah, AA-less Jihadis and soon maybe AA-less dissident US or French citizens.
IIRC Senator John "Insane" McCain was pushing Light Attack, since that was more or less what he was in his glory days. I feel any program from someone with a brain tumor can't be bad.
Maybe with Drones you still got too much Chain Of Command with Drones being run from USAF bases in USA, with all sorts of ROE.
Elijah Moore
This. Making something cost efficient and logistically viable certainly isn't good news, especially after the civil unrest /civil war II simulations
Parker Reyes
Basically a smaller A-10 is what they are aiming for, I think. Aircraft that just are meant to drop bombs and get out without any muh multirole capability. I think it could potentially even be a turboprop, that'd be a sight to behold.
Jason Martinez
no worries, as in my OP seems the USAF is doing what it does best…inventing ways to stall and string out the purchase of standard, almost "consumer grade", items and tacking on huge costs every step of the way.
Personally, I'd be much more scared of my own Govt using drones against me, since these LA planes will have human soldiers and even lots of grunts loading them, etc.
Colton Stewart
Make a guess. It's a (ground) attack aircraft that is lighter than usual. So not a full sized bomber or CAS plane, but a plane designed to be small and still capable of causing damage. You got it. Not really. Drones over Pakistan are used for long term surveillance and striking individual targets from high altitude. Their overall design (wide wings, slim body, weak engine) gives those used over there characteristics more similar to a glider. Attack aircraft are often used to support ground troops, and as such need to be able to move fast so that the enemy won't see them coming for a long time and won't have time to react. They also need to be able to respond to troops coming under fire quickly instead of taking hours to get there.
Brayden Wilson
Su-25 aren't light. Also everyone that actually didn't do menial work in that factory has long emigrated from Georgia.
It's the return of the Bronco. Contrary to Hollywood and DoD propaganda you can't have fuel AND payload on drones, those that are armed are armed with Hellfires/Griffins for an opportunity strike but that's about it. A drone with the same capacity has a plane AND longer endurance is costing the same as a plane and is the same size. The pilots barely take any room already.
To do CAS you need something with lots of ammo (a gun, rockets pods) and the capacity to loiter to make whoever it's firing upon fuck off (sorry, "break contact").
So since we live in clown world and the US industry can deliver something that doesn't suck hundreds of millions into the void, the USAF thinks they need to go back to completely obsolete planes on which the DshkM and ZSU-23-2 (the two favorites guns of rebels anywhere) are efficient against, because if they do once those planes (that cannot possibly cost more than an average modern car to make) get the DoD rebate for family and friends would only cost a few millions per and therefore would be affordable. Before of course they decide that the gun need 20×102mm "turbo guided precision joint programmable fuzed" rounds that will cost $10.000 a shell.
Eh, I think it's unlikely to actually be a turboprop if it goes through. As much as I like them they really aren't fast enough to evade common HMGs which is pretty crucial to COIN ops which is all that the US does, although the US is kinda wrapping up it's ME presence. A lighter A-10 that's just meant to carry lots of bombs, drop them and get out at supersonic (or close enough) speeds is the ideal.
