PARIS, June 2015. The Scorpion jet from Textron AirLand LLC, a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company, flew from Wichita, Kansas, to France and the United Kingdom, to take part in two defense aviation exhibitions: the International Paris Air Show from June 15 to 18, followed by Royal International Air Tattoo in Fairford, U.K., from July 17 to 19. Scorpion will be the guest of multiple European air forces and will fly demonstrations between the air shows.
The Scorpion intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), strike, and trainer aircraft will travel more than 10,000 nautical miles this summer as part of its European tour from June through July, including stops at International Paris Air Show and Royal International Air Tattoo. With its arrival in Europe, Scorpion will have completed three trans-Atlantic flights and flown numerous demonstrations in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America.
“We introduced Scorpion to the world at the Royal International Air Tattoo and Farnborough International Air Show last summer,” says Bill Anderson, president of Textron AirLand. “Since then we have completed a full year of flight testing, meeting and exceeding all performance targets.”
Milestones since first flight, December 2013:
With over 385 flight hours and a readiness rating of over 95 percent, Scorpion has accumulated significant accomplishments in the 17 months since first flight.
Achieved its top speed of 450 KTAS, reached its service ceiling of 45,000 feet and validated its operating cost of less than $3,000 per flight hour.
In June 2014, Scorpion completed its first trans-Atlantic roundtrip flight covering over 9,200 nautical miles in a total of 38 hours flight time.
Scorpion’s first military exercise was Operation Vigilant Guard 2014, a large-scale, multi-state disaster response exercise sponsored by U.S. Northern Command and the National Guard Bureau. It provided aerial reconnaissance, transmission of real-time full motion video and communications in support of other aircraft, ground stations and other emergency responders reacting to mock threat scenarios— “mission accomplished” without missing a sortie.
Scorpion intercepted a low slow flying threat aircraft below 100 KTAS demonstrating its suitability for the Low Slow Threat Aircraft Intercept Requirement as outlined in the NORAD Operation Noble Eagle Defense of North America mission.
The United States Air Force Test Pilot School evaluated the Scorpion aircraft as part of Class 14B students’ “Capstone” exercise and to determine suitability as a T-38 replacement for the TPS curriculum. USAF TPS flew the aircraft for four days, achieving 100% mission availability and 100% mission accomplishment. During the four days, Scorpion completed nearly 20 flight hours on 12 flights (For perspective, most US tactical jets fly 20 to 25 hours per month). Every sortie was completed as scheduled (12 for 12) with one aircraft. The average maintenance turnaround time from Scorpion landing to “released for flight” was 38 minutes — the best turn was 15 minutes.
Scorpion will be on static display in its armed configuration, along with advanced multi-spectral sensors and cameras for ISR missions. Weapon systems on display will include Raytheon Griffin Missiles, Lockheed Martin Hellfire and JAGM, FN Herstal 50 cal gun, Raytheon Enhanced Paveway 4, MBDA Brimstone Missile and Textron Systems G-CLAW. Scorpion will be joined by Beechcraft’s AT-6 Wolverine, Cessna’s Grand Caravan EX and Beechcraft’s Baron G58 ISR, all part of Textron Aviation’s product portfolio designed for special missions.
Scorpion is a multi-mission aircraft designed with diverse capabilities including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, training and precision strike. Aircraft features include twin-engine power, two-seat operation, large internal payload capacity, high-definition ISR cameras, wing-mounted weapons stations, modern avionics, all-composite structure and more.
Textron AirLand’s Scorpion Jet was introduced in 2013 and has completed several hundred hours of flight testing with an exceptionally high mission availability score. Scorpion is a highly affordable, multi-mission aircraft offering diverse capabilities including intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, advanced training and precision strike. Aircraft features include twin-engine power, two-seat operation, large internal payload capacity, high-definition ISR cameras, wing-mounted weapons stations, modern avionics, all-composite structure and more.
Textron AirLand has developed an affordable and exportable twin-engine ISR/Strike/Trainer jet for the tactical military aviation market. A versatile jet platform based on commercial best practices and proven high technologies, Scorpion is designed as a multi-mission aircraft for diverse battlefield, security and training missions.
Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna, Beechcraft, Hawker, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, and Textron Systems.
