[20211124]IF10954_空军OA-X轻型攻击机SOCOM武装警戒计划.pdf

https:/crsreports.congress.gov Updated November 24, 2021Air Force OA-X Light Attack Aircraft/SOCOM Armed Overwatch ProgramOn October 24, 2019, the U.S. Air Force issued a final request for proposals declaring its intent to acquire a new type of aircraft. The OA-X light attack aircraft is a small, two-seat turboprop airplane designed for operation in relatively permissive environments. The start of a formal program followed a series of Air Force “experiments” to determine the utility of such an aircraft. After the Air Force experiments ended, the program passed to U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) as the “Armed Overwatch” program, with a goal of acquiring 75 aircraft for a somewhat different mission. In November, 2021, SOCOM issued its own request for proposals, with a different set of competitors. Why Light Attack? During 2018, then-Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson often 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