Textron Air Land Scorpion

[Mr King]

Textron and AirLand today unveiled the Scorpion, a clean-sheet light attack platform that the companies are confident can make inroads in both the international and domestic markets.

The plane is in the “final stages” of integration tests, with a flight expected before the end of the year, Scott Donnelly, chairman and CEO of Textron, told reporters today. He said the aircraft has already run successful tests of the ejector seat and engines.

Company officials unveiled the design, in works since January 2012 at a Wichita, Kan., facility, during the annual Air Force Association Air & Space Conference in National Harbor, Md.

The Scorpion comes with twin turbofan engines and a tandem cockpit, although the jet is designed to be flown by a single pilot. There are six hard points on the plane that could hold a variety of equipment, from extra fuel to Hellfire missiles.

Potential competitors to the Scorpion, such as the Embraer Super Tucano and Beechcraft AT-6, are turboprop designs notable for their low-cost design. Donnelly, however, expressed confidence that his design would be priced similarly to a turboprop, while providing greater capabilities.

Donnelly expects a per-hour operating cost of around $3,000, significantly less than highly capable aircraft such as the F-16 or F-35.

 

The backing officials see the ISR capabilities as what really sets the plane apart. The Scorpion can carry 3,000 pounds of ISR equipment, with a modular design to allow customers to select what equipment should be on the plane. It boasts five hours of long-loiter time as well.

 

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20130916/DEFREG02/309160016/Textron-unveils-light-attack-Scorpion

 

 

 

[Adam_S]

"Mummy, one day when I grow up I want to be an F-14."

[Corinthian]

"Mummy, one day when I grow up I want to be an F-14."

 

 

Yeah, my first thought upon seeing the pic was "Wait, F-14?"

 

[mnm]

How long for the Iranian wanna-clone?

[AETiglathPZ]

Wow, they really reworked that bird.

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Scorpion_LAM

[iamcanjim]

Man, that's adorable.

[Ken Estes]

Armor for engine, vitals and aircrew?

 

I thought so ...

 

Therefore no US market

[sunday]

But it's cute and fluffy!

[mnm]

What about this?

 

[shep854]

What about this?

 

When I saw this, my first thought was 'Rutan'--nice to be right once in a while!

[Van Owen]

That Scorpion looks like the lovechild of an F-14 and Su-25...

[Dawes]

As far as light attack jets, always liked this one:

 

 

 

[BabyOlifant]

It's adorable. Make a single seat version.

[EchoFiveMike]

Why bother with this when you can get UCAV's with far longer loiter and more useful weapons load outs for less money? And no expensive pilots...

S/F....Ken M

[chino]

As far as light attack jets, always liked this one:

 

 

 

Wow, lovely...

 

Whatsit?

[chino]

On this Scorpion, why such straight wings.

Because the straight wings look so odd matched with a somewhat more up-to-date looking tail section.

[shep854]

 

As far as light attack jets, always liked this one:

 

 

 

Wow, lovely...

 

Whatsit?

 

Cessna A-37 Dragonfly; a beefed-up version of the T-37 'Tweet' or 'Dogwhistle'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-37_Dragonfly

[Paul in Qatar]

Sell it as a trainer/fighter. The USAF wants nothing but the best. But sort of by definition, not every aircraft can be the best.

 

I suspect many of the advanced features of more expensive aircraft could be nailed onto a bare bones aircraft for minimal costs. Once you develop a new thingamajig, the price for producing another copy is pretty low.

 

All in all, I like the idea. A low-cost trainer/fighter will provide mass, something lacking in the USAF mix.

[Josh]

Why bother with this when you can get UCAV's with far longer loiter and more useful weapons load outs for less money? And no expensive pilots...

S/F....Ken M

I agree, there's no first world market for this, other than possibly a trainer. There is no role this performs that couldn't be better met by some other asset in inventory for the US or most of the EU. There might be third world markets. I suspect the trainer market is what they were really aiming for. I wonder if its supersonic, not that I think that's useful, but it seems to be a USAF thing.

[Adam_S]

With that wing I'd have thought that supersonic was unlikely.

[Dawes]

Wonder how it would stack up against a refurbished/moderized F-5E?

[Panzermann]

Reminds me of the French-German Alphajet

[Mr King]

Scorpion first flight

 

http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/videos/scorpion-light-tactical-jet-first-flight/

[BabyOlifant]

What's with the position of those inlets? Wouldn't you want them above the wing if you're going to be operating near the ground?

[Kenneth P. Katz]

Because lots of countries don't have the communications capabilities to fly UAVs.

 

UAVs do have pilots and sensor operators and employs squadrons of intel analysts. That's why the USAF calls them RPAs, not UAVs. The idea that RPAs lower crew costs is just incorrect.

 

Why bother with this when you can get UCAV's with far longer loiter and more useful weapons load outs for less money? And no expensive pilots...

S/F....Ken M