US Armed Overwatch Programme
In March 2020, United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) conducted a briefing (see the Scramble Magazine news item of 7 February 2020) to industry in support of the Armed Overwatch Programme (AOP). After that event it became once again silent.
While the ultimate Close Air Support aircraft, the A-10C Thunderbolt II, will perform missions for years to come, various high placed persons within the US keep on bickering about buying new Armed Overwatch planes that will support the following missions of Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC); Close Air Support (CAS), Armed Reconnaissance, Strike Coordination And Reconnaissance (SCAR), and Forward Air Control-Airborne (FAC-A).
In the latest move on 14 May 2021, an Armed Overwatch Award Notice was made apparent to the public. Surprisingly, USSOCOM announced that it had awarded contracts totalling USD 19.2 million to five companies to produce prototype aircraft for its programme. This time the awardees are:
Work under the AOP prototype project will be performed mainly at Eglin AFB (FL) and is expected to be completed by March 2022. It is expected that the follow-on contract will be an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity, with a base 5-year ordering period and 2-year option ordering period and an estimated quantity of 75 aircraft with associated support.
Earlier it was announced that light jets, like the T-X trainer (now T-7 Red Hawk) or Aero Vodochody Aerospace L-159 could also competing in the OA-X Light Attack/Armed Reconnaissance (LAAR), or Light Air Support (LAS) programme. Now called the Armed Overwatch Programme, it seems that light jets are now permanently off track. Strangely, no Sierra Nevada Corporation/Embraer Defense & Security's A-29 Super Tucano has been named in the latest Armed Overwatch Award Notice. The latter was, together with the AT-6 Wolverine, extensively tested over a long period of time.
To be continued...