Textron Airland, a new subset of Cessna, is pushing their innovative twin-engine, twin-tailed Scorpion light attack craft. The prototype has about a hundred hours on it and is scheduled to wing it to the UK next month for an appearance at an international arms show.
This plane would fill the gap between a small armed prop-equipped plane, like a PC-9, and a larger, faster, all-weather fighter bomber like a F-16.
Largely off the shelf, its cheap ($20 million, which is a bargain compared to $100 milly or more for a modern jet fighter like the F-18, Typhoon, or Saab Grippen).
Its specs are not that bad either, as it’s about the size of the classic A-4 Skyhawk, which served in one form or another for about fifty years.
Scorpion specs:
- Aircraft Length 43 ft 6 in
- Wingspan 47 ft 4 in
- Height 14 ft 0 in
- Standard Empty Weight 11,800 lbs
- Max Takeoff Weight 21,250 lbs
- Max Internal Fuel Load 6,000 lbs
- Max Internal Payload Bay ,000 lbs
- Thrust ~8,000 lbs
- Max Speed 450 KTAS
- Service Ceiling 45,000 ft
- Ferry Range 2,400 NM
This concept really isn’t that far of a stretch for Cessna to pull off. Back in the 1960’s one of the best training aircraft around was the T-37 Tweet (made by Cessna) and it, like the Scorpion is a two-seat, twin-engined lightweight jet. The T-37 was also made in a (very) well armed bomb and rocket truck version, the A-37/OA-37 Dragonfly. This little subsonic strike aircraft was a hit with the USAF for observation and COIN missions until replaced by the better armed A-10 and went on to be very popular with low-budget U.S. allies in need of a good little jet to drop the occasional bomb on rebel groups in the hills.
(A Cessna-made OA37 in USAF colors. Just under a hundred of these simple but effective jets are still operated by no less than seven Latin American countries although the production line ended in 1975. Odds are Cessna has a good idea as to what they could be replaced with)
Cessna’s argument is that the Scorpion can do the job of the air and marine interdiction as well as border surveillance for countries that currently use F-16s/ MIG-29s in this role. While a F-16 costs between $10,000-$20,000 to fly per hour, and a MIG or SU about half that larger figure, they contend a Scorpion can be in the air (for 5 hours of more) at a cost of $3k per hour, which means lower life-cycle costs.
Cessna is advertising the Scorpion as being ideal for intercepting small civil aviation, which due to high stall speeds, is tough on a F-16.
They are pitching the aircraft hard at the Air Force, to possibly replace the 300-ish 1980s era F16C and F15C interceptors used by the Air National Guard to chase down errant private aircraft, wayward commercial jets, and the occasional Russian bomber that gets too close to the old Red White and Blue. Of course to do that would require some $6-Billion in capital for an Air Force that doesn’t really want to spend $6 on the National Guard if it doesn’t have to, which means it may be a non-starter.
Another option for US use of the Scorpion would be by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). This monolithic border control and anti-smuggling organization flies some 260~ aircraft of over twenty types and is responsible for stopping the Doobie and the Snoman’s regular midnight express coming up from Latin America. For air intercepts they use a combination of King Air 350s and about 25 or so Cessna 551/552 Citation business jets that have been modified with the APG-66 radar from the F-16. These Citations, mainly picked up by the old US Customs force in the 1980’s, have seen lots of use (CBP flies about 100, 000 hours per year across their fleet) and are getting long in the tooth. Of course a Citation only costs about $900/hour to fly and the sight of a law enforcement group with a fleet of white and blue painted business jets is way more politically correct than a couple of squadrons of haze gray mini-F18s.
Which basically just leaves overseas sales, and is probably why the Scorpion is hitting the road to be shown off to international buyers in search of a cheap to fly, yet fairly capable, attack plane that is not made in the land of vodka and borscht.
And you can be sure that any country willing to buy in squadron quantity could also get a package deal on some nice Cessna prop jobs for initial flight training as well. Lets keep it all in the family.
