Hawker Beechcraft wants the Air Force to consider an attack variant of its T-6 trainer to fill the Light Attack/Armed Reconnaissance aircraft role the service wants to fill within the next couple of years. Hawker announced last week that it had conducted a successful first flight of its AT-6 prototype and would complete the next phase of flight testing in October. “We are almost three weeks ahead of schedule,” said Bill Boisture, Hawker Beechcraft CEO, and added, “We believe the AT-6 offers the broadest range capabilities available in the market.” For the light attack role, the company has structurally strengthened the T-6 airframe. As we reported last month, the Air Force has put out feelers within industry to find a platform that can operate from dirt fields and employ a variety of air-to-ground weapons. It wants to field the first of 100 aircraft by 2012.
The Air Force is placing Air Combat Command in charge of teaching combat tactics to fighter and remotely-piloted aircraft units, according to a May 12 announcement. Beginning this summer, the service will reassign the formal training units for the F-35, F-16, and MQ-9 from Air Education and Training Command to…