Contractors from the Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) perform a post-flight brief for an A-29 Super Tucano, April 24, 2018, at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. (U.S. Air Force/Airman 1st Class Erick Requadt)
DoD Buzz: Air Force Light Attack Effort Stalls After Experiments
While the U.S. Air Force hasn't closed the door to a possible light attack program, efforts to procure a new turboprop aircraft for training with allies appear to have lost steam as other priorities have come to the fore.
Service leaders in recent weeks said they're looking at the possibility of another light attack "experiment," one that could involve helicopters, drones and even participation by allies who already have light attack aircraft.
"What is the right mix of fixed-wing, rotary-wing, manned and unmanned [aircraft] that can do the business of light attack?" Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein told Defense News in a Jan. 26 interview. "What is the right mix and how do we bring allies and partners in right now with us -- not just periodically parachute in -- but how do we expand this experiment to bring them into the tent with us?"
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Previous Post: Does The U.S. Air Force Want A Light Attack Aircraft Program? (February 3, 2019).
WNU Editor: If you fight low-intensity conflicts you need these aircraft. But apparently .... the Pentagon has a different point of view. Or more to the point, a belief that low-intensity conflicts a thing of the past for the U.S.. IMHO this is a mistake.