AFSOC’s Unique Array For Armed Overwatch Competition (From RealClearDefense)

Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), Armed Overwatch program is, to say the least, unusual. This is an effort to acquire 75 light aircraft to provide a combination of tactical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), communications, and strike from bases in austere environments. AFSOC selected five companies to participate in a prototype demonstration with the idea of selecting one to begin production in Fiscal Year 2022. They are proposing what can only be described as a heterogeneous set of platforms, including a version of a purpose-built military aircraft; a variant of a primary trainer aircraft in wide use with the U.S. and foreign militaries; a Polish-designed cargo aircraft; a repurposed popular utility aircraft; and a derivative of a crop duster. Evaluating these aircraft against a set of already challenging requirements will be tough enough for AFSOC. The five competitors are so different that it will likely be difficult to perform a comparative evaluation. When considerations of supportability, training, flexibility, and growth potential are included, AFSOC may find itself confronting multiple dilemmas in downselecting to one aircraft. I have written more on this subject here.