OA-X may turn out to be “a more sustainable model for the future that would be less costly [and] that I could entice foreign partners and allies and coalition members to partner with us on,” U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General David Goldfein explained during a talk at the American Enterprise Institute in Jan. 18, 2017. He added that a proposal by Senator John McCain (R-AZ) earlier than month to buy 300 such aircraft was a “great idea.” After McCain released his white paper and Goldfein made his comments, The War Zone’s own Tyler Rogoway wrote an in-depth analysis of the possible competitors and the potential future of such a program. At that time, the A-29 and the Scorpion seemed like the most likely contenders. The final decision is hardly surprising given that Boeing and Lockheed Martin both said they were unlikely to participate in the experiment. The decision by the smaller company IOMAX not to compete was also notable, but more on that later on.

USAF Two A-29s of the Afghanistan Air Force.

As it stands now, Air Force testers at Holloman will be pitting two relatively similar and proven aircraft against each other, while evaluating another, totally new aircraft. The A-29, a variant of Brazilian plane maker Embraer’s EMB 314 Super Tucano, and the AT-6 Wolverine, a version of the Beechcraft T-6 Texan II trainer, are both low-wing, two-place monoplanes with roughly similar dimensions. A single Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A turboprop, the industry standard engine for light aircraft in this class, powers both aircraft to similar cruising speeds of around 320 miles per hour without any weapons or equipment. At just over 37 feet long and with a wingspan of 36.5 feet, the A-29 is approximately four feet longer and two feet broader than the AT-6. The Brazilian design is also 1,000 pounds heavier. The A-29 can carry missiles, bombs, rockets, gun pods, and other ordnance on five pylons, two in each wing and another under the fuselage centerline. In addition, the aircraft has a .50 caliber machine gun built into each wing. The Wolverine has six under-wing pylons, but no fixed guns. Both planes can carry a sensor turret with day- and night-vision cameras and a laser designator, along with defensive flares. The inclusion of both types in the OA-X tests makes perfect sense. The Air Force already has a large fleet of T-6A Texan II trainers, which share many of the same components. This means that a not insignificant portion of the service’s logistics pipeline could support units with an attack variant. Certain training and maintenance expertise would translate to the new planes, too. And since 2013, the Air Force has been buying A-29s for foreign partners and training pilots from those countries to fly them.

Textron An AT-6 Wolverine.

The similarities between the two aircraft have already brought them into close competition in the past. Between 2010 and 2012, Beechcraft – now part of Textron – and the SNC-Embraer team, along with the political supporters in Congress, fought over a series of disputed contracts to supply aircraft to both the U.S. Air Force and Afghanistan’s air arm. Despite significant “buy American”-based lobbying on behalf of Beechcraft, the SNC-Embraer offering won out to build what became the A-29. Through the Foreign Military Sales program, the Pentagon has delivered a number of the light attack aircraft to Afghanistan and is working to send more to Lebanon. The U.S. Air Force canceled its parallel project in 2012, nominally due to budget cuts, but in no small part because of institutional reticence bordering on outright sabotage. “SNC and Embraer will take part in the experiment with the A-29 Super Tucano, which is the only light air support (LAS) aircraft in the world with a USAF Military Type Certificate,” the companies boasted in their press release. “Partnering with Embraer, we’re proud to present the U.S.-made, combat-proven A-29 as part of this experiment,” Taco Gilbert, SNC’s senior vice president for SNC´s Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance division, added, clearly trying to get in front of any renewed objections to the aircraft’s Brazilian connection.

Textron The Textron Scorpion.