USAF posts adversary air
request for proposals
28 AUGUST, 2018 - SOURCE:
FLIGHTGLOBAL.COM - BY: GARRETT REIM - LOS ANGELES
The US Air Force
posted online an official request for proposals for its Combat Air Force
Contracted Air Support programme on 24 August.
The USAF intends to contract
30,000 adversary air sorties annually in the continental United States, Alaska
and Hawaii, according to the notice. The service also wants aircraft for 10,000
close air support sorties annually in the continental United States to
facilitate joint terminal attack controller training.
Adversary air support contracts
are likely to be awarded to several aircraft operators given the large-scale
needs of the USAF. It has been previously estimated that the total value of the
adversary air contract would be worth more than $7.5 billion over ten years.
Private aircraft operators such
as Textron’s Airborne Tactical Advantage Company and Draken International are
likely bidders for the adversary air contracts having already provided services
for previous red flag operations. Both companies have been acquiring and
refurbishing dozens of used third and fourth generation fighter aircraft such
as the Dassault Mirage F1.
The USAF wants a mix of
different aircraft for its fourth and fifth generation pilots to train against.
However, all aircraft must have the capability of carrying government
electronic countermeasures pods and infrared captive air training missiles, as
well as be compatible with arresting systems on an airfield, among other common
requirements.
At the higher end of
performance, the USAF is looking for aircraft with top speeds of 1.5 Mach, the
ability to operate at 50,000ft and radar with a range of 80nm, though
mechanical scan or AESA radar type is not prescribed.
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