The small fleet of A-29 Super Tucano and AT-6E Wolverine turboprops of the US Air Force (USAF) may have its (few) days numbered. The five planes must now be transferred or sold to other countries, after the Special Operations Command (SOCOM) selected a new model.
The USAF acquired three A-29s and two AT-6s through the Light Attack Experiment tender (successor to Light Attack/Armed Reconnaissance), after a series of programs and turnarounds that began in 2009. recent choice of AT-802 Sky Warden, an agricultural aircraft transformed into a military platform, these two models may soon end their careers in the United States.
According to Edward Stanhouse, Air Force Special Operations Command's A-29s and Combat Air Command's AT-6Es "They will likely end up being declared Excess Defense Articles, and we will look for other mission partners who might want to pick them up." Stanhouse serves as Executive Director of the Air Force's Program for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) and Special Operations Forces (SOF).
Excess Defense Items are defense materials selected from US stockpiles, which can be provided to allies at very low cost. Partner nations pay for transport and delivery of materials, as well as refurbishment, if applicable, explains the The War Zone.
Another way to transfer these aircraft is through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. as we explain in another matter, the FMS serves as a procurement facilitator for various military items, from cannons to helicopters and fighter planes. In this method, the Defense and Security Cooperation Agency acts as an intermediary between governments and manufacturers. The acquisition can be financed by either the US or the buying country.
“I think the likelihood is potentially FMS because we currently have FMS partners who are flying both the AT-6 and the A-29”, said Stanhouse, noting that he believes that “there is a little foreign interest” on planes.
However, no US partner country through FMS operates the AT-6, despite the T-6 Texan II, from which it derives, being widely used. In South America, Colombia and Argentina employ the T-6.
The AT-6 was used for additional light attack experiments with the Marine Corps and partner countries, as well as the AEROnet datalink demonstration platform. The A-29 was used as part of the Air Force Special Operations Command's external advisory mission. In all, the five planes cost more than $200 million.
“They were used for demonstrations, proof-of-concept demonstrations by both SOCOM and Combat Air Command,” Stanhouse said.
On the other hand, SOCOM's Armed Overwatch contract seeks a much larger amount of 75 planes. And in another twist, SOCOM chose the Air Tractor/L802Harris AT-3 as its new platform. Sierra Nevada Corp., an Embraer partner and assembler of the A-29 in the US, participated in the program with another plane, the MC-145B Willy Coyote. Beechcraft followed with the T-6E but failed to take the contract.
With the choice of a new aircraft – and in greater numbers – to fill a very similar gap, it doesn't make sense for the USAF to maintain such a small fleet of aircraft for the long term. Therefore, it is easier to sell or transfer the planes soon. However, congressmen may still oppose the idea.
In the case of the A-29, there is no shortage of operators who may want more units. According to Embraer, 15 countries operate its turboprop, which has already been proven in combat in multiple scenarios. As for the AT-6, there is a contrast: only Thailand acquired or model.
With information Air Force Magazine e The War Zone
