The Textron AirLand Scorpion jet is a proposed light attack and reconnaissance aircraft. A prototype was secretly built by Cessna between 2012-2013. During flight tests and demonstrations with the British Royal Navy and RAF in 2015, the Scorpion performed well and operated at a cost of less than $3,000 per flying hour. Textron is pitching the Scorpion to international air forces as a lower-cost alternative for missions currently performed by aging 4th and 5th generation fighters that are expensive to maintain. The Scorpion could potentially replace jet trainers like the T-38 as well as light attack aircraft globally.

1. Scorpion Recce Jet – Textron AirLand Unveils The Air Beauty
Fighting in the air is not sport. It is scientific murder.
— Captain Edward V. 'Eddie' Rickenbacker, USAS
In the race of falcons,newbirdwithall itsdevastatingbeautyandefficiencyconfrontitself.The kingof
techsin airforces,USAFannouncedthatithad signedaunifiedresearchanddevelopedasettlement
(CRADA) withTextronAirland,underwhichthe service isgoingtoconductan airworthinessassessment
of Textron’sscorpionplane.
"Thisis the first ofits kind,we have not donea CRADA like thisbefore and we have never had a
partnershipwith industryto assessaircraft that are not under a USAFacquisitioncontract". Jorge
Gonzalez,theAir Force’s technical airworthinessauthority,saidin a statement.
In December,2013 was approachingwhenthe scorpion'stirestouchedthe runwayatMcConnell Air
Force Base incentral Kansasfor the firsttime.The testpilotwhowashandlingthe birdnamedDan
Hinsonsaidhisfirstsayinginthe cockpit;“We were upfast, it’sa verypowerful plane”.The Textron
AirlandscorpionisanAmericanjetaircraftproposedforsale to carry out mildattackand intelligence,
surveillance andreconnaissance (ISR) obligations.Itsmilesbeingadvancedbywayof TextronAirland,a
jointassignmentbetweenTextronandAirlandcorporations.A prototype turnedintosecretlybuilt
throughCessnaat theirWichita,KansasfacilitybetweenApril 2012 and September2013. Its featuringa
ferryrange of 2,400 NM(nautical miles)andapayloadof 3,000 lbsinternal storesaswell asunderwing
PGMs (PrecisionGuidedMunitions),the two-seateristhe “affordable warplane forlow-threat
missions,”includingCOIN (CounterInsurgency) andSMI(Slow MoverInterceptor).
In the course of the Scorpion’s2015 EuropeanTour whichdeliveredthe planetobothParisLe Bourget
Airshowandthe Royal International AirTattooatRAF Fairford,UK,TextronAirLandalsoobservedthe
time to behaviordemonstrationflightswiththe BritishRoyal NavyandRAF.Workingwith849 Naval Air
Squadron,operatorsof the specialistASaC7variantof the SeaKinginthe AEW (Airborne EarlyWarning)
and ISRroles,the Scorpiontactical jetfurnishedtreasuredfighter,manipulate experience tothe Navy
aircrews.
As owingtothe fact that The Scorpionisbeingpitchedtosome nationsasa maritime patrol aircraft.
Whole world'seyesare onthe board. AccordingtoTextronAirLandpresidentBillAnderson,Numerous
air forcesare lookingat [the Scorpion] because theirfourth- andfifth-eracombatantsare virtually

2. joggingupagainsttheirexistencelimitsandthey’re verydifficulttopreserveandverycostlytooperate
– buttheyneedtokeeptheirpilotstask-prepared.
The pitch isfor thisplane,whichisoptimizedfor5-hr.The goal is to discipline aplane able toworking
for muchlessthan$3,000 perflyinghour;the companydeclinedtocite atarget unitfee.Through
evaluation,the pentagoninJune referredtothe fee inline withflyinghourof the f-16,whichcurrently
performsmanyof those missions,as$24,899.
“The militaryisvery focusedright now onthat very high-end” capability,saysTextronCEO Scott
Donnelly.
Moreover,the prototype hasnowbreakingthe recordsbycrossingthe Atlanticthree times,firstto
make itsdebutinEnglandat the Royal International AirTattooandFarnboroughInternational AirShow
in2014. Thenit became againto the US, includingitsfirstfly-ininWashington,D.C.The Scorpionlately
flewlowerbacktoEurope from SouthAmerica,inwhichitbecame examinedwiththe aidof pilotsina
rusticinterestedbyshoppingformultiple jets,howeverTextronAirLandofficialsdeclinedtosaywhich
country.
In orderto introduce some formidable speciesof thisbird,one maysaythat scorpionhas the abilityto
getto an escalatingstate of affairsspeedy.Meanwhileitcanmaneuveratmuch lowerspeeds,if the
missionrequiresit.Fast reconfigurable,scorpion’sindoorspayloadbayisprovisionedforsophisticated
ISR structures.Plus,scorpioniscapable of beingweaponizedthe use of avarietyof weaponunits,which
includesprecisionguidedmunitions(PGMS) forprecisionstrike.
In additiontothe context,TextronAirlandexaminedthe integrationof theirThalesI-masterradarandL-
3 systemsWescamMX-15 DI sensorbyusingmonitoringandidentifyinggoalsuptoa hundredmilesoff
the Britishcoast.All throughthe demonstrations,TextronAirlandsaidthattheir$20m jetoperatedat
lessthan$3,000 in stepwithhour,regardlessof engine overhaulexpensesaccountedfor.Forfurther
cluesthat the plane isideal fitforthe “low-costfightaircrafttoincorporate the fee of prolonged
operations,”whose needemergedforthe durationof Libyaairbattle 2011.
Behindthe mysteriesiswhatgoingon,no one can argue uponbut inconcern of replacementsof birds
withScorpionjetcan be understandablefactnow.TextronAirlandhadwashopingtoofferthe scorpion
for the USAF's NorthropT-38 substitute program, howeverthe T-Xtrainerperformance requirements
launchedsofar do nownotlookpromising.The USAFhas nolongertargeteda supersonicplane,
howeverTextronAirland’sinterpretationof the proposedrequirementsimplyaplane withsupersonic
or near-supersonicperformance.Moreover,inconcernof countingreplacementsforaglobal fleetof
jet-poweredAeroVodochodyL-39s,CessnaAT-37s,DouglasA-4SkyhawksandSukhoi Su-25sare
included.

3. TextronspokesmanDave Sylvestre saidtherecould“possibly”be anemploymentexpansionasaresult
of the Scorpion.Between100 and 200 employeesworkedonthe aircraft’sdevelopment,butthose
people largelycame fromCessna.However,workersata productionfacilitywouldbe neededtofill
ordersof the Scorpionjet,he said.So,One may saythat whilstonchallenge,scorpionbringsthe
capabilitytopeerandmake the most perishable intelligence andstrike fleetingobjectives,bringing
tactical benefittoeventhe mostworryingconditions.Scorpionwill definitelymeeteventhe most
stringentUSmilitaryairworthinessstandards.
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