Updated November 19, 2019
Air Force OA-X Light Attack Aircraft Program
On October 24, 2019, the U.S. Air Force issued a final
countries; and the developmental Textron Scorpion jet.
request for proposals declaring its intent to acquire a new
First-phase operations continued through August 2017.
type of aircraft. The OA-X light attack aircraft is a small,
two-seat turboprop airplane designed for operation in
Figure 1. Sierra Nevada/Embraer A-29
relatively permissive environments. The announcement of a
formal program follows a series of Air Force “experiments”
to determine the utility of such an aircraft.
Why Light Attack?
In a number of venues during 2018, then-Air Force
Secretary Heather Wilson expressed the purpose of a new
light attack aircraft as giving the Air Force an ability to free
up more sophisticated and expensive assets for other tasks,
citing the example of using high-end F-22 jets to destroy a
drug laboratory in Afghanistan as an inefficient use of
resources. Per-hour operating costs for light attack aircraft
are typically about 2%-4% those of advanced fighters.
Source: U.S. Department of Defense.
She and other officials have also noted that the 2018
Note: Shown in Afghan service.
National Defense Strategy put a greater emphasis on
potential conflicts against capably armed nation-states,
Figure 2. Textron/Beechcraft AT-6
further stressing a need to minimize the use of high-end
assets in other types of conflict. (For more on that
document, see CRS Insight IN10855, The 2018 National
Defense Strategy, by Kathleen J. McInnis.)
Conversely, Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates had
criticized the Air Force as focusing excessively on the kind
of high-end, near-peer conflicts in that strategy; the light
attack aircraft can be seen as making the Air Force more
relevant to low-end and counterinsurgency warfare.
History
In January, 2016, LtGen James Holmes (then Air Force
Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and
Requirements) indicated to CRS that the Air Force was
considering starting two programs related to ground-attack
Source: U.S. Air Force photo by Ethan D. Wagner.
operations. One, called OA-X, would examine existing,
“off-the-shelf” light attack aircraft to add a low-end
Figure 3. Air Tractor/L3 OA-802
capability for use in relatively permissive air environments
such as Iraq and Afghanistan. The other, dubbed AX-2,
would develop an eventual replacement for the existing A-
10 Thunderbolt II. The Air Force subsequently publicized
these concepts, although they were not included in the fiscal
2017 budget submission.
On July 31, 2017, the Air Force began what it called the
Capability Assessment of Non-Developmental Light Attack
Platforms, an “experiment” to determine the utility of an
OA-X, its ability to operate with coalition partners, and to
Source: L-3.
initially evaluate candidate aircraft. The first phase included
four aircraft: the Sierra Nevada/Embraer A-29;
Textron/Beechcraft AT-6B; Air Tractor/L3 OA-802
turboprops, variants of which are in service with other
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Air Force OA-X Light Attack Aircraft Program
Figure 4. Textron Scorpion
The October 24, 2019, request for proposals splits the
proposed buy between A-29 and AT-6, with two to three
each. The AT-6s would be used at Nellis AFB, NV, for
testing and development of operational tactics; the A-29s
would be used by Air Force Special Operations Command
in an instructor pilot program for air advisers at Hurlburt
Field, FL. The Air Force has not yet discussed why the buy
was split between the two aircraft.
Potential Issues for Congress
Questions to consider in evaluating the OA-X program
might include the following:
What is the value of adding this capability to the Air
Force?
Source: Darin LaCrone/Textron Airland.
Is the Air Force the appropriate service to operate these
aircraft?
The experiment’s second phase began May 7, 2018, with
the A-29 and AT-6B continuing in the program. The flying
How large a fleet is appropriate?
portion of the program concluded in June 2018; release of
the presolicitation notice can be seen as the formal end of
Might this mission be better accomplished through other
the OA-X experimental phase.
means, such as remotely piloted aircraft (“drones”)?
A presolicitation notice issued August 6, 2018,
Does the presence of such aircraft in U.S. service assist
in training and operating with partner nations? If so,
limited participation in the proposed contract to Sierra
what is the value of that to the United States?
Nevada and Textron;
Should the U.S. government be involved in promoting
did not specify a number of aircraft to be acquired (Air
sales of similar aircraft to other nations, and if so, how?
Force estimates have varied from 20 to “a couple of
squadrons” to 300) or a target unit price;
Is a procurement restricted to two specified competitors
fair and appropriate?
predicted a formal solicitation in December 2018, with
contract award in the fourth quarter of 2019; and
Is it efficient or operationally preferable to operate more
than one type of light attack aircraft?
is available at https://go.usa.gov/xUMEZ.
Is the use of “experiments” rather than a formal
The A-29 would be built and assembled in Jacksonville,
downselect process a useful innovation in streamlining
FL; the AT-6 in Wichita, KS.
acquisition, a circumvention of rules, or might it be
described some other way? Does that judgment change
The Administration’s FY2020 request for Aircraft
when (as in this case) the procurement is intended for an
Procurement, Air Force included $35 million for light
off-the-shelf, rather than developmental, acquisition?
attack aircraft. Although the Administration did not request
any funding specific to the OA-X experiment or subsequent
The Air Force has publicly stated it is experiencing a
procurement in the FY2017-FY2019 budget submissions,
shortage of trained pilots. Would creation of a light
the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for
attack fleet exacerbate that shortage or assist in the
Fiscal Year 2019 as enacted (P.L. 115-232) included $300
training and absorption of new pilots?
million for procurement of a fleet of OA-X aircraft and long
lead materials. Neither the act nor its accompanying report
specified a quantity of aircraft.
Jeremiah Gertler, Specialist in Military Aviation
IF10954
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Air Force OA-X Light Attack Aircraft Program
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