Scorpion ISR/Strike Aircraft

Citation :

Textron AirLand Introduces Scorpion ISR/Strike Aircraft

Citation :

Commercially developed, affordable platform to satisfy broad range of U.S. and partner nations defense needs.

PROVIDENCE, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep. 16, 2013-- Textron AirLand, LLC, a joint venture between Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) and AirLand Enterprises, LLC, today unveiled its Scorpion prototype, a versatile Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR)/Strike aircraft platform. The aircraft was introduced during a press conference at the Air Force Association Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition in National Harbor, Maryland.

Scorpion ISR/Strike twin-jet tactical aircraft developed by Textron AirLand. (Photo: Business Wire)
Scorpion ISR/Strike twin-jet tactical aircraft developed by Textron AirLand. (Photo: Business Wire)

The demonstration aircraft is now in test phase, with first flight scheduled to occur before the end of this year—a rapid schedule by any measure of military jet development. Textron Chairman and CEO Scott Donnelly said, “We began development of the Scorpion in January 2012 with the objective to design, build and fly the world’s most affordable tactical jet aircraft capable of performing lower-threat battlefield and homeland security missions.” Donnelly continued, “We relied on commercial best practices to develop a tactical jet platform with flexibility and capabilities found only in far more costly aircraft.”

The Scorpion is designed to accommodate the increasingly stringent budget constraints of the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. partner nations. The Scorpion’s design is well matched to the Air National Guard’s missions such as irregular warfare, border patrol, maritime surveillance, emergency relief, counter-narcotics and air defense operations. While Scorpion’s lower acquisition price is an advantage, an equally important benefit is the lower cost of operation over the aircraft’s full lifecycle. Combining ease of maintenance and globally-available commercial components, the Scorpion can significantly lower the customer’s total cost of ownership.

F. Whitten Peters, former U.S. Secretary of the Air Force, an investor in and advisor to AirLand Enterprises, LLC, commented, “With its industry-leading capabilities in commercial aircraft and defense systems design and manufacturing, Textron was a natural partner to bring the vision of an affordable tactical military jet to fruition.” He added, “In an impressively short time, the joint venture has designed and built a capable and mission-ready aircraft with no up-front government funding. We believe Scorpion will fill a critical price and performance gap in the tactical military aircraft market.”

For a closer look at the Scorpion and its mission capabilities, please visit www.ScorpionJet.com.

Downloadable images of the aircraft are available in the Scorpion Media Gallery.

About Textron

Textron is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft Company, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee and Textron Systems. More information is available at www.textron.com.

About Textron AirLand, LLC

Textron AirLand, LLC is a joint venture between Textron Inc. and AirLand Enterprises, LLC with the purpose of designing and manufacturing an affordable, capable jet platform based on commercially available technologies and processes for the tactical military jet aviation market. More information about our initial aircraft is available at www.ScorpionJet.com.

About AirLand Enterprises, LLC

AirLand Enterprises, LLC was formed by a group of experienced aerospace and defense executives dedicated to bringing an effective, low-cost, ISR/Strike jet to domestic and international military markets, replacing aging aircraft and complimenting high-end multi-role fighters.

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements which may project revenues or describe strategies, goals, outlook or other non-historical matters; these statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the efficacy of research and development investments to develop new products or unanticipated expenses in connection with the launching of significant new products or programs; the timing of our new product launches or certifications of our new aircraft products; our ability to keep pace with our competitors in the introduction of new products and upgrades with features and technologies desired by our customers; changing priorities or reductions in the U.S. Government defense budget, including those related to military operations in foreign countries; changes in foreign military funding priorities or budget constraints and determinations, or changes in government regulations or policies on the export and import of military and commercial products; and volatility in the global economy or changes in worldwide political conditions that adversely impact demand for our products; performance issues with key suppliers or subcontractors.



Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20130916005176/en/

Source: Textron

Trés beau design, on peut dire que le pilote aura une excellente vision et l'appareil permettra une très bonne observation ... On aurait dit un mélange entre un A-jet et un Fouga !

Maintenant reste plus qu'à attendre pour voir ses performances basiques

Citation :

Low-cost Scorpion fighter starts flight tests


First flight on 12 December of the Textron AirLand Scorpion launches an at least two-year certification programme and opens opportunities for closing a deal with a launch customer.

“It’s a great deal for the whole team,” says Textron AirLand president Bill Anderson. “We’ve been working hard for the past 23 months.”

The joint venture between Textron and the start-up AirLand has already scheduled a meeting with a foreign customer, who was waiting for first flight to begin sales discussions, Anderson says.

Anderson is also in discussions with at least one more potential foreign buyer, as well as both active and reserve components of the US military.

The company launched the unsolicited demonstrator to offer militaries a low-cost alternative to modern combat jets. Acquisition price of the Scorpion should be “well south” of $20 million, Anderson says. Direct operating costs are targeted at $3,000 per hour, compared to $12,000 per hour for the Fairchild Republic A-10, he says.



The first flight opens an at least two-year certification campaign. Pilot Dan Hinson completed the 1.4h flight from McConnell AFB, Kansas, never retracting the landing gear. Cruise speeds range between 120-200kt (222-370km/h) at altitudes between 10,000-15,000ft (3,050-4,570m).

In the absence of a customer order, Textron AirLand is keeping the certification programme flexible. The data packages are being prepared for a US Federal Aviation Administration certification, but will do nothing to exclude military airworthiness if a customer requires it.

Powered by two Honeywell TFE731 turbofan engines, the Scorpion is designed to cruise at 450kt with wing-mounted stores and an internal payload up to 1,360kg (3,000lb).

The company hopes to complete up to 500 flight test hours over the next 12 months. The flights are aimed at clearing the basic speed and altitude envelope, culminating in a mission demonstration involving both sensor and weapons tests by the end of the year, says Scorpion chief engineer Dale Tutt.

Although flight tests may reveal design change requirements, Textron AirLand has designed the product to be off-the-shelf. “We’re 99% sure the outer mould line [today] is the outer mould line we’re going to keep,” Anderson says.

The Scorpion, however, includes some modular design features. Textron AirLand, for example, could swap the two-seat front section for a one-seater or an unmanned configuration, Anderson says.

Textron subsidiary Cessna constructed the all-composite Scorpion airframe using a low-cost technique, but it is ready to enter full-rate production, Tutt says.

“That’s been something Cessna has been developing, you know, for a couple years,” Tutt says. “We feel like we could go right into production.”

Textron AirLand started designing the Scorpion less than two years ago. The structure was built with composite materials using a new, low-cost manufacturing technique developed by Cessna.

http://www.flightglobal.com

air & cosmos

D'ailleurs l'entreprise qui commercialise cet avion Textron viens de racheter Beechraft si mes infos sont bonnes   
Interessant cet avion , il a beaucoup de potentiel a l'export, 20 millions le coucou c'est tres raisonnable le rapport qualité/prix semble bon . Je pense les américains commence a viser les pays a faible ou revenus moyens , cette stratégie sera payante , de la technologie US a faible prix sa fera fureur . Un pays par exemple comme le Sénegal peut tres bien s'acheter 10/15/ ou meme 20 avions de ce types , adapté a ses besoins en plus .

c´est moins que 20M$ en fait,ca pourrait bien devenir un mini-A10 s´il recoit un gun ce que je vois pas ici,le melange ISR/Strike en low cost pourrait etre un pari reussi

rien, oh non rien, ne peut remplacer le mighty 30mm Gathling du A-10 ... dont le son manquera énormément aux GI's accrochés au sol

Ben en parlant de A-10, l'armée US avait mit sur le marché des A-10 d'occasions pour un prix presque dérisoire par rapport a son vrai prix . Je me demande si ils ont trouver preneur . Quand même le A-10 c'est pas n'importe quoi , il a prouver des capacités plusieurs fois

le A-10 etait presque pris par la Turaf en 94,une 50aine de memoir..mais ca a capoté en derniere minute,pressions USAF pour les garder

@Chobham: je parle pas ici de ersatz A10 pour les US c´est impensable,mais pour les pays ciblés(small AF/budget)

Oui oui j'avais bien compris. Je parlais un peu en HS par rapport aux soit disons remplacement du A-10 par le F-35.

En l’occurrence pour ce qui est de l'équipement de ce Scorpion avec un canon, alors je pense que le plus raisonnable serait la possibilité d'ajouter un point d'emport ventrale (qui pourrait aussi servir pour l'emport d'un réservoir ventral) pour permettre l'emport d'un Pod canon comme le HMP 400.

Citation :

Scorpion Jet Makes International Debut



Textron AirLand's new military jet prototype, the twin-engine Scorpion, is breezing through the development phase and is now ready to make its international debut. With more than 105 hours of flight-testing on its prototype, the Wichita, Kansas-based company plans to send the Scorpion on its way on a multi-day, 4,700-nm flight from Wichita to RAF Fairford-Gloucestershire today. The prototype will be shown off to potential customers attending the Farnborough International Airshow and The Royal International Air Tattoo, both set to take place in the United Kingdom in the middle of this month.

Textron AirLand president Bill Anderson said the airplane is flying "extremely well," has exhibited great reliability and has exceeded the targeted 450-knot top speed, showing speeds as fast as 455 knots TAS. He is confident that the light jet can make it across the Atlantic; however, to minimize the exposure to overwater legs, the Scorpion's flight path will proceed over Greenland and Iceland.

The Scorpion is designed with a variety of missions in mind, such as maritime patrol; close air support; border security; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR)/strike missions and bombing missions, with attach points for air-to-air missiles, guns and bombs. The basic design provides protection from small arms fire, but Anderson said there is plenty of space in the cockpit for additional armor, should a customer feel the need.

Textron AirLand was confident enough in its idea that it launched the program without a customer. With a price tag of $20 million and an operating cost below $3,000 per hour (numbers that may seem high to piston pilots but are a fraction of the cost of an F-16 or F-18), as well as good performance numbers and versatility, Anderson said the program has seen a lot of interest both domestically and internationally. While no contracts have been signed, there are several customers that have gone past initial discussions. "We have changed from talking about if we get an order to when we get an order," Anderson said.

Details of the location of a potential production facility will be nailed down once a contract is in hand, Anderson said. But with the incorporation of Beechcraft and its facilities into the Textron family, there should be plenty of real estate to work with.

Read more at http://www.flyingmag.com/aircraft/jets/scorpion-jet-makes-international-debut#V7M6scZolmqcBHkl.99

Remplacant de l'A-37

j´ai hate de le voir a Fornborough et les pays interessés !!

Citation :

Scorpion team reveals design changes, sales target for 2015

Textron AirLand’s Scorpion programme is facing a busy 2015, with design enhancements and customer demonstrations set to dominate its activities amid optimism that a first sale will be announced.

“There are a lot of countries interested, and a lot of demonstrations to come this year,” says Dale Tutt, chief engineer and programme manager. Interest in the Scorpion has grown since its debut flight in December 2013, and in particular since the company brought the twin-engined type to the Royal International Air Tattoo and Farnborough air show in the UK last July.

asset image

Textron AirLand

Speaking at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London on 14 January, Tutt and Textron AirLand chief test pilot Dan Hinson revealed previously undisclosed details about the programme’s achievements to date, and the changes being incorporated for a production-standard version.

Textron AirLand was formed with the goal of rapidly designing and flying an aircraft capable of meeting tasks ranging from close air support to aerospace control, maritime security and training. With a target acquisition price lower than $20 million, it was also to offer a per-hour operating cost of below $3,000 and be ready to enter production in 2016.

“We set some really audacious goals,” says Tutt, who also describes the project as “an incubator, to learn some lessons for the rest of Textron”. This includes the use of an all-composite, one-piece wing with a span of almost 14.6m (48ft). Where possible, the design team sourced parts such as valves and actuators from products such as Cessna’s Citation business jet, and avionics flight testing was performed using a 208 Caravan.

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Textron AirLand

Achieved within 23 months of project launch, the time needed to reach first flight compares with an average of around five years for a new Cessna product, Tutt says, and with just 60% of the personnel. However, he stresses: “Going fast doesn’t mean taking short cuts.”

Since its debut, the company’s one prototype Scorpion has made 140 flights totalling a combined 275h, says Tutt. The design met its $3,000/h operating cost target in its first year, and demonstrated a 95% availability rate, he says, adding: “We’ve learned a lot from the current airplane.”

The next version of the Scorpion will feature new main landing gear. Tutt describes the current system as having been one of the programme’s biggest constraints: “We had a lot of trouble building it,” he says. An early issue with the gear not fully locking until contact was made with the runway was not permanently resolved until flight 43, the company reveals. The new trailing gear design will also free up an additional 68kg (150lb) in payload capacity for the platform.

“Externally the aircraft is going to look a lot like it does today,” says Tutt, with the fighter retaining the type’s innovative 4.3 x 0.9m (14 x 3ft) internal payload bay.

Other changes will include the integration of a trimmable horizontal stabiliser on the tail that was excluded from the prototype to reduce complexity. “We’ve been working on that since before we flew,” Tutt notes.

Another planned enhancement will be to move from the use of a current four multifunction displays in the rear cockpit to a single large screen, which test pilot Hinson says will support the type’s role in having a mission manager on board.

An icing issue encountered on departing Iceland for the UK last year has been addressed, with a wing and tail anti-icing system enhancement having entered flight testing on 9 January, Hinson says. The inlets for the type’s Honeywell TFE731 engines already had the feature.

asset image

Textron AirLand

With the Scorpion having been flown to a maximum of 455kt (843km/h), 45,000ft and demonstrated an endurance of 4.2h on internal fuel since its debut (above), Hinson adds: “We have completed all of our preliminary performance data. Everything is translating into the next airplane.”

Due to a busy schedule, Tutt says the team is hoping to tailor weapons testing planned to occur this year with the needs of possible buyers.

“Right now we’re actively working towards getting a customer. It’s not a matter of if – it’s when,” says Tutt. “We're positioned to deliver aircraft two years after a contract signature,” he notes, but adds that a first transfer before the end of 2016 could still be possible if an order were to be secured soon.

The company is also looking towards the certification process for the type, which will be performed to Federal Aviation Administration-approved US Air Force standards. “Our target customer is a military customer,” Tutt adds.

To support its sales objective, the Scorpion team is also planning to return to Europe in mid-year in order to exhibit the type at June’s Paris air show, he confirms.

http://www.flightglobal.com

Citation :

23/10/2016

Le Scorpion démontre ses capacités d’appui au sol !




Le Textron Scorpion a démonté pour la première fois ses cappacités d’appui au sol légers, lors d’un exercice de tir sur le polygone de White Sands Missile Range au Nouveau-Mexique.

L’appareil est actuellement basé à Holloman AFB au Nouveau-Mexique. Le Scorpion de développement lancé trois types de munitions différentes au cours des essais qui ont eu lieu entre le 10 et le 14 octobre. L’appareil a tirer des roquettes Hydra-70 non guidées, des missiles Lockheed Martin AGM-114F « Hellfire » et pour terminer les roquettes à guidage laser BAe Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems (APKWS).

Le Textron Scorpion :

Cessna et Bell Helicopter Textron sont partenaires pour le développement d’un avion de renseignement, surveillance et reconnaissance de nouvelle génération. Dénommé «Scorpion», cet aéronef est de conception entièrement en matériaux composites avec un cockpit en tandem. Il dispose de supports de capteurs rétractables, une baie pour des armes en interne et des points durs sur les ailes. Il est propulsé par turboréacteurs jumeaux produire pouvant produire 8’000 livres de poussée, son plafond pratique est de 45’000 pieds.

Le Scorpion est conçu pour répondre aux contraintes budgétaires de plus en plus strictes en vigueur actuellement. Il doit pouvoir répondre à diverses missions comme la sécurité intérieure en tant qu’appareil de recherche et de sauvetage, la lutte contre les narcotiques, mais aussi la reconnaissance du champ de bataille et l’appui au sol léger. Pour répondre à ces différentes missions, les concepteurs ont prévu une capacité de transition rapide entre la basse vitesse et la haute vitesse.

Le Scorpion a une vitesse de croisière maximale de 450 ktas (517 mph) avec un rayon d’action de 2’400 miles nautiques. L'avion peut transporter une charge utile interne jusqu'à 3000 Lbs.



Photos : tirs de munitions du Scorpion @ Textron

http://psk.blog.24heures.ch/archive/2016/10/23/le-scorpion-demontre-ses-capacites-d-appui-au-sol-862343.html

Citation :

24/12/2016

Premier vol pour le Scorpion de série !




Wichita, Textron Inc. a annoncé avoir réussi le premier vol de son petit jet Scorpion de série. Cette étape du programme suit de près la récente capacité a engagé des armes.

L'avion a décollé de McConnell Air Force Base à Wichita et a effectué une série de manœuvres pendant le vol d'une heure et 42 minute. Le jet bimoteur s’est très bien comporté et a été piloté par des pilotes d'essai expérimentaux Don Parker et Dave Sitz, qui ont vérifié l'avionique et les performances aérodynamiques ainsi qu'un certain nombre de systèmes de l’aéronef.

La dernière version du Scorpion intègre un certain nombre d'améliorations basées sur les commentaires des clients cible ainsi que les résultats du programme d'essais en vol complet. Le programme a accumulé plus de 800 heures de vol dans les deux essais et paramètres opérationnels dans le monde réel.

La société a également annoncé que l’avion sera doté d’une avionique Garmin G3000 intégrée de pilotage avancé et est optimisée pour les opérations militaires rigoureuses. Le système G3000 nouvellement configuré dispose d'un grand écran haute définition complétée par deux contrôleurs à écran tactile haute définition et offre une plus grande capacité de la mission dans la position du poste de pilotage avant et une capacité de navigation supplémentaire dans la position de cockpit arrière.

En plus de la nouvelle avionique, des modifications ont été apportées à la cellule avec un empennage horizontal arrière amélioré pour une meilleure performance à haute vitesse, une conception de trains d'atterrissage simplifiée, une nouvelle génération de Heads Up Display (HUD) et l’introduction du système HOTAS.

Le Textron Scorpion :

Cessna et Bell Helicopter Textron sont partenaires pour le développement d’un avion de renseignement, surveillance et reconnaissance de nouvelle génération. Dénommé «Scorpion», cet aéronef est de conception entièrement en matériaux composites avec un cockpit en tandem. Il dispose de supports de capteurs rétractables, une baie pour des armes en interne et des points durs sur les ailes. Il est propulsé par turboréacteurs jumeaux produire pouvant produire 8’000 livres de poussée, son plafond pratique est de 45’000 pieds.

Le Scorpion est conçu pour répondre aux contraintes budgétaires de plus en plus strictes en vigueur actuellement. Il doit pouvoir répondre à diverses missions comme la sécurité intérieure en tant qu’appareil de recherche et de sauvetage, la lutte contre les narcotiques, mais aussi la reconnaissance du champ de bataille et l’appui au sol léger. Pour répondre à ces différentes missions, les concepteurs ont prévu une capacité de transition rapide entre la basse vitesse et la haute vitesse.

Le Scorpion a une vitesse de croisière maximale de 450 ktas (517 mph) avec un rayon d’action de 2’400 miles nautiques. L'avion peut transporter une charge utile interne jusqu'à 3000 Lbs.



Photos : 1 Le premier Scorpion de série au décollage @ Textron 2 Cockpit du Scorpion @ Anton Balakchiev


http://psk.blog.24heures.ch/archive/2016/12/24/premier-vol-pour-le-scorpion-de-serie-862762.html

Citation :

7 fév. 2018 | Par Antony Angrand

L'US Air Force ne prendra pas le Scorpion pour son initiative OA-X

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Le Scorpion de Textron AirLand n'a pas été retenu dans le cadre du programme OA-X. © Textron Airland


Le Textron AirLand Scorpion, aux côtés du Beechcraft AT-6 et de l'Embraer/Sierra Nevada A-29, ont participé à une campagne d'évaluation de l'US Air Force, qui a permis d'évaluer l'acquisition potentielle d'appareils d'attaque légers dans le cadre de son initiative OA-X (voir http://www.air-cosmos.com/l-arabie-saoudite-pourrait-acheter-du-scorpion-97905).

Malheureusement pour le Scorpion, ce dernier n'a pas été retenu, l'AT-6 et l'A-29, tous deux turbopropulsés, ont été déclarés comme étant "les appareils d'attaque légers les plus prometteurs", selon la secrétaire à force aérienne des Etats-Unis, Heather Wilson qui n'a pas voulu commenter les raisons pour lesquelles l'appareil de Textron ne connaîtra pas de suite au sein de ce programme.

AT-6 et A-29 vont de leur côté participer à la seconde phase d'essais OA-X qui se tiendra de mai à juillet 2018 à Davis-Monthan AFB, dans l'Arizona. Prévue à l'origine sous forme de démonstration dans une zone de combat, cette seconde phase sera focalisée sur la maintenance, les capteurs et le réseautage de données.

Toujours est-il que pour le moment l'US Air Force ne dispose pas de budget dans le cadre de l'acquisition d'une flotte d'OA-X, même si ces derniers permettraient selon le chef d'état major de l'US Air Force, "de soulager les appareils de quatrième et cinquième génération (...) et d'améliorer notre intéropérabilité".

La réponse devrait se matérialiser le 12 février, lorsque l'administration Trump soumettra au congrès sa demande de budget pour l'année 2019.

http://www.air-cosmos.com/l-us-air-force-ne-prendra-pas-le-scorpion-pour-son-initiative-oa-x-106891