Textron won’t offer Scorpion jet for Air Force trainer contest

Textron Aviation confirmed Wednesday it won’t be offering its Scorpion jet in the upcoming Air Force T-X trainer competition.

“The T-X program is seeking a class of aircraft with a set of capabilities focused on a very different mission than that of the Scorpion jet,” Textron Aviation said Wednesday.

Had Textron bid the subsonic, clean-sheet military jet built in Wichita, it would have faced stiff competition from five other teams, including Boeing and Saab, which developed their own clean-sheet military training jet for the contract reported to be valued at $16 billion.

“The company is pursuing numerous opportunities where the capabilities of the Scorpion jet align with the mission requirements of potential customers, including the USAF OA-X program,” Textron Aviation said.

The OA-X program is an Air Force evaluation of “off-the-shelf” airplanes aimed at providing close air support for U.S. military forces and augmenting the Air Force’s current fleet of aging A-10 Warthogs. That evaluation is expected to happen this summer.

“We look forward to receiving additional information on the OA-X program as the USAF finalizes the requirements,” the company said.

Textron Aviation flew its first production-conforming Scorpion last December, and that airplane continues its flight testing. It’s also undergoing with the Air Force a first-of-its-kind airworthiness assessment of a military aircraft the Defense Department hasn’t ordered.

That assessment could be the key to selling the airplane to foreign military services.

This story was originally published March 15, 2017 at 4:35 PM with the headline "Textron won’t offer Scorpion jet for Air Force trainer contest."