For the first time in nearly three decades, the US Air Force (USAF) test pilot school (TPS) has a new class of aircraft.
Three Embraer A-29 Super Tucano turboprops have arrived at the school at Edwards AFB in the California desert, after being divested by US Special Operations Command (SOCOM).
The A-29s were formally transferred to the test school in August, according to a 9 October announcement from the air force’s 412th Test Wing, after “mission requirements changed” within SOCOM and the Super Tucanos were no longer needed.
Michael Banzet, plans and programmes director at the Air Force Test Center, on 9 October described the addition of the three close-air support turboprops as a unique opportunity to expand the flight test and training capabilities at Edwards AFB.
“Not only does this re-purpose a $63 million taxpayer investment, it also modernises and expands [the] TPS curriculum to accelerate the fielding of combat capability for the US Air Force,” he says.
At Edwards, the A-29s will fill a number of roles, being used for spin testing and for evaluating equipment hung on underwing pylons.
“This will allow the school to conduct training and research on a variety of multi-domain sensors and weapons,” the 412th Test Wing says, noting A-29s also feature modern avionics.
The addition of three Super Tucanos for test flights will also reduce the centre’s reliance on ageing and maintenance-challenged Northrop T-38C Talons, and on Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters, which are more expensive to operate.
The air force did not specify what changes to its special operations portfolio made the A-29s irrelevant to SOCOM. However, the transfer may be connected to the delivery of the first L3Harris OA-1K Armed Overwatch turboprops, which were turned over to Air Force Special Operations Command earlier this summer.
Developed by SOCOM as a low-cost platform for providing airborne fire support to small teams of special operations forces, OA-1Ks bear similarities to A-29s, which Brazilian airframer Embraer also designed as a low-cost close-air support platform.
L3Harris in September told FlightGlobal that the air force test pilots are already training on the first two OA-1Ks at Hurlburt Field in Florida. The company has eight more production-model aircraft undergoing assembly in Waco, Texas, and is pursuing type certification for the OA-1K with the US Federal Aviation Administration.
L3Harris says it plans to deliver the first operationally-configured OA-1K in the first quarter of 2025.
Based on the Air Tractor AT-802 crop duster, the Armed Overwatch aircraft is capable of carrying a variety of munitions on underwing hardpoints, much like the A-29.
L3Harris also says it is exploring the addition of more powerful intelligence collection equipment to the OA-1K, which comes standard equipped with two onboard electro-optical/infrared sensors for visual reconnaissance and weapons targeting.
See more photos of the USAF test pilot school’s new Embraer A-29 Super Tucanos:
