http://aviationweek.com/defense/green-light-usaf-fighter-study-expected-soon
U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein is expected in the next few weeks to green light a study on a potential low-cost, light-attack fighter fleet to augment the A-10 Warthog and other aircraft flying close-air support (CAS) missions in Iraq and Syria, a top general says.
Goldfein’s seal of approval would kick off a long-anticipated effort to study the art of the possible for a potential 300-aircraft light fighter fleet, also known as “O-AX.” Top service officials have been hinting for months that such a study is in the works, one likely to inform an emerging plan to consider buying a low-end fighter to help fight Islamic State terrorists in the Middle East.
“He wants to see it. He is ready to go,” said Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch, the Air Force’s top uniformed acquisition official. “Our goal is to get moving as quickly as we can.”
Once the plan is approved, the Air Force will send out a broad invitation to industry to participate in the experiment, Bunch said. The service wants as many industry players as possible to take part.
The experiment’s aim is to look at the capabilities of the existing commercial designs—for instance
Textron’s Scorpion light-attack fighter—and whether they can meet the mission without additional modifications or development-related costs.
“What we want to see is the results out of this and analyze: is industry really close? Are they not really close? Is it easy to operate? Is it not easy to operate?” Bunch said.
The Air Force Strategic Development Planning & Experimentation Office, based from Air Force Materiel Command, will run the study.
Bunch said the Air Force won’t make a final decision on whether to invest in a light fighter fleet for some time. The results of the study’s first phase will likely lead to another experiment, perhaps one in which the Air Force looks at the various options in more stressful environments, Bunch said. He declined to provide a timeline for the process.
As for the A-10, the Air Force won’t begin divesting squadrons until at least 2021, Goldfein announced recently. Due to this decision, the service will abandon plans to pursue a direct replacement, previously dubbed “A-X,” at least in the near future, Bunch said.
“That may be something that we decide later, but that’s not the phase we are in right now,” Bunch said. “Right now what we’re focused on is the light attack experiment and then we will figure out where we go from there.”