USSOCOM Plans To Buy 75 'Armed Overwatch' Planes

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USSOCOM Plans To Buy 75 'Armed Overwatch' Planes

Post by n33d4sp33d_85 » Sat Feb 08, 2020 12:17 am

United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) continues "Armed Overwatch" plane purchase on its own

Scramble Facebook News (SFN) and Scramble Magazine frequently reported about the intended purchase of new light attack aircraft (so-called OA-X) for the United States Air Force. After more than a decade of tests and research, in Q3 of 2019 the USAF released its final Requests For Proposal (RFP) for the Textron Aviation's AT-6 Wolverine and the Sierra Nevada Corporation/Embraer Defense & Security's A-29 Super Tucano. Back then, it became known that only less than a handful of the Wolverine and Super Tucano aircraft, for respectively Air Combat Command (ACC) at Nellis AFB (NV) and Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) at Hurlburt Field (FL), would be purchased.

At the end of September 2018, according to the USAF, "the OA-X aircraft requirement was more urgent". After that, an awkward silence surrounded the USAF's future OA-X/LAAR (Light Attack, Armed Reconnaissance) procurement. At the end of 2019, Florida Congressman and former Special Forces officer Michael Waltz, because of USAF's "slow-rolling", spearheaded legislation allowing US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) to seek light attack aircraft. Congressman Waltz stated: "While we can be proud and grateful for its capabilities, the Lockheed Martin F-35 is also the most expensive weapon system in history. The price tag of a single unit alone is over USD 90 million per aircraft and its operating cost is more than USD 42,000 per hour. The light-attack aircraft comes at a price of USD 12 million per aircraft, with operating costs of about USD 2,000 per hour".

Scramble has now learned that USSOCOM's Directorate of Procurement, on behalf of the Programme Executive Office-Fixed Wing (PEO-FW), will be conducting an Industry Day event for Armed Overwatch. Armed Overwatch will provide Special Operations Forces (SOF) deployable and sustainable manned aircraft systems fulfilling Close Air Support (CAS), Precision Strike, and SOF Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR) in austere and permissive environments.

With USSOCOM solely conducting an Armed Overwatch Industry Day, it seems a new phase was entered. The aircraft system procured will support the following typical AFSOC missions: Close Air Support, Armed Reconnaissance, Strike Coordination & Reconnaissance, and Forward Air Control-Airborne. The prototype initiative is to demonstrate an Armed Overwatch prototype. The follow-on contract is expected to 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.

USSOCOM will conduct a briefing to industry in support of the Armed Overwatch programme. This Industry Day will occur on 4-5 March 2020 at Pinewood, located at 6701 South Dale Hwy Tampa, near the main gate of MacDill AFB (FL). To be continued.
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