Hawker Beechcraft and Lockheed Martin are expected to announce this afternoon that they have teamed to pitch the AT-6B for the Air Force’s light-attack/armed reconnaissance aircraft competition.
Lockheed’s Systems Integration division in Owego, NY, will install the mission system used in the digitized A-10C in Hawker Beechcraft’s AT-6B aircraft. The teaming arrangement comes as the service is reviewing responses to a capability request for information that was issued this summer.
The teaming arrangement will likely bolster the AT-6B proposal considering Lockheed has won a number of awards for its A-10 mission system -- which includes digital displays and hands on stick-and-throttle system.
Hawker Beechcraft flew its first AT-6B prototype earlier this summer. The company plans to install a larger engine in its second prototype aircraft, company officials said in interviews earlier this year.