Aviation Week, March 21, 2017 – The U.S. Air Force will take its first step toward potentially fielding a low-cost, light-attack aircraft this summer with a flight demonstration at Holloman AFB, New Mexico. The service is looking to choose up to four industry partners to bring one or two off-the-shelf aircraft to Holloman for a capability assessment in which Air Force aircrew will evaluate each aircraft’s ability to perform light attack and armed reconnaissance missions and operate from austere locations.
For industry, the stakes are high—the selected designs will likely have an advantage if the Air Force moves forward with a 300-aircraft buy. Since affordability is a main driver, Embraer and Sierra Nevada Corp.’s A-29 Super Tucano is an obvious front-runner. Already in service with the Afghan air force through the U.S. Light Air Support (LAS) program, the turboprop is a proven asset, with historically low operating costs.....
About SNC
SNC is a trusted global leader in aerospace and national security. Our innovative solutions enable connected protection through command, control and communications systems, as well as ISR, cyber, electromagnetic spectrum management, and other high capabilities for national security systems across all domains – sea, land, air, space and cyber. As a longstanding leader in defense technology, SNC is at the optimum intersection of commercial, defense and non-traditional contractors. We are one of the only privately owned mid-tier A&D contractors and we pride ourselves on our ability to invest early and often to ensure mission success on or ahead of schedule. It's part of our mission to always stay one step ahead; working on solutions today to solve the problems of tomorrow. Founded in 1963, SNC is owned by Chairwoman Eren Ozmen and CEO Fatih Ozmen.