FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
"Textron, with a big hand from subsidiary Cessna Aircraft, on Monday unveiled the prototype of its first modern military jet, the Scorpion, a light jet for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and attack.
The Scorpion is being built by a new Textron division, Textron AirLand, a joint venture with AirLand Enterprises. It was introduced at the Air Force Association Air Space Conference and Technology Exposition in National Harbor, Md.
The prototype was designed from scratch and built at Cessna in Wichita, Kan., in secrecy, beginning in early 2012, company officials said Monday.
Its first flight is scheduled for this year, and low-volume production is slated for 2015. Testing and early production will be done in Wichita, said Textron spokesman Dave Sylvestre. Beyond that, he said, it remains to be seen.
"We began development of the Scorpion in January 2012 with the objective to design, build and fly the world's most affordable tactical jet aircraft capable of performing lower-threat battlefield and homeland security missions," Textron chairman and CEO Scott Donnelly said in a statement. "We relied on commercial best practices to develop a tactical jet platform with flexibility and capabilities found only in far more costly aircraft."
The Scorpion is being built by a new Textron division, Textron AirLand, a joint venture with AirLand Enterprises. It was introduced at the Air Force Association Air Space Conference and Technology Exposition in National Harbor, Md.
The prototype was designed from scratch and built at Cessna in Wichita, Kan., in secrecy, beginning in early 2012, company officials said Monday.
Its first flight is scheduled for this year, and low-volume production is slated for 2015. Testing and early production will be done in Wichita, said Textron spokesman Dave Sylvestre. Beyond that, he said, it remains to be seen.
"We began development of the Scorpion in January 2012 with the objective to design, build and fly the world's most affordable tactical jet aircraft capable of performing lower-threat battlefield and homeland security missions," Textron chairman and CEO Scott Donnelly said in a statement. "We relied on commercial best practices to develop a tactical jet platform with flexibility and capabilities found only in far more costly aircraft."
