AF Light Air Support Aircraft

[HiFlyer]

So we're condemning 200 A-10s, closing 3 Hawg units, and not getting the Tucano?

It's cool guys, the F-35 will pick up the slack with it's huge cannon capacity....

UFB

Well, "we" weren't really getting the Tucanos...they were being bought mostly to provide a training/light strike capability to a "friendly" nation (most of the first group to Iraq, I think). Therefore, getting or not getting them provides little or no difference in our national capability. However, you'd think buying 20 relatively simple, off-the-shelf, non-developmental aircraft wouldn't somehow overtax the acquisition capability of the USAF. Gosh, wrong again.

Edited February 29, 2012 by HiFlyer

[Getzen2]

Well, "we" weren't really getting the Tucanos...they were being bought mostly to provide a training/light strike capability to a "friendly" nation (most of the first group to Iraq, I think). Therefore, getting or not getting them provides little or no difference in our national capability.

can we claim this as a $1bil cost savings by Big Blue over the span of the deal and keep (some more of) our planes?

[TrainerModel]

If it ain't Big Safari, it ain't shit

[backseatdriver]

If it ain't Big Safari, it ain't shit

So if it is Big Safari it IS shit?

[Clayton Bigsby]

Oh well. The Taliban would have been flying these in two years anyway.

[backseatdriver]

Oh well. The Taliban would have been flying crashingthese in two years anyway.

FIFY.

[HiFlyer]

So if it is Big Safari it IS shit?

Yeah...but its GOOD shit!

[Spur38]

Hopefully there will be a fly-off when this goes full circle. Even A-10 Martha would be able to distinguish the superiority of the Super T over the AT-6; sitting side by side on the ramp. But cancelling the entire program would certainly buy a lot of reflective belts which will be needed for FOD walks in 200 vacant A-10 parking spaces.

[Guest CAVEMAN]

Some of our friends in the Middle East were sold on the premise that we were also going in on the light attack deal. It would be interested to see if they all pull out.

[HiFlyer]

Some of our friends in the Middle East were sold on the premise that we were also going in on the light attack deal. It would be interested to see if they all pull out.

Well, the boss says we're going to "recompete", so It will be a delay, not a total cancellation. I suspect the USAF will always have a few for training purposes (and maybe a little SOF work), like the 60s/70s when we had one squadron of F-5s (plus the aggressors)..

[busdriver]

Bring back TASS?

[Daredevileng1]

USAF Extends Probe Of Afghan Plane Deal

By Andrea Shalal-Esa/Reuters

WASHINGTON

The U.S. Air Force on Friday said it was extending an investigation into an embarrassing mistake that prompted it to cancel a contract, valued at up to $1 billion, to sell Brazilian light attack planes to the Afghan government.

Air Force General Donald Hoffman, commander of Air Force Materiel Command, granted investigators more time to look into the issue, said spokeswoman Jennifer Cassidy. She said a decision was now expected in coming weeks.

The Air Force had no immediate comment on why it decided to extend the investigation, which is being conducted by Air Force legal officials along with some representatives of the Pentagon’s chief weapons buyer, Frank Kendall.

The problem began in January, when privately held U.S. defense contractor Sierra Nevada Corp and Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA beat out Hawker Beechcraft to win an order for 20 light attack planes. The U.S. Air Force was procuring the planes behalf of the Afghanistan government.

That contract was quickly challenged by Hawker.

The incident has generated headlines in Brazil, where government officials were caught off guard by the U.S. military’s cancellation of the plane order, and have said it would not be helpful to bilateral defense relations. The issue may come up when Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff visits Washington next week.

While preparing for the Hawker lawsuit, the Air Force discovered that its decision had been inadequately documented, prompting Air Force Secretary Michael Donley to scrap the contract, which had an initial value of $355 million to Sierra Nevada and its subcontractor Embraer.

Air Force officials have described the incident as embarrassing and disappointing, especially given a series of other acquisition problems over the last decade. They had hoped to investigate the matter quickly and move forward with a new competition to ensure that the Afghan government could still receive the initial order of 20 light attack planes soon.

David Van Buren, the acting assistant secretary for acquisition who is retiring this month, told Reuters earlier this month that he did not believe the case revealed a systemic problem with the Air Force acquisition process.

Sierra Nevada is pressing the Air Force to redo the contest quickly, without lowering the requirements set for the original competition, from which the Hawker AT-6 plane was disqualified. Sierra says the Embraer Super Tucano is in use by six militaries around the globe.

Hawker insists that its AT-6 plane is the most capable, affordable and sustainable light attack aircraft on the market. The company is urging the Air Force to revise its requirements for the light attack planes, arguing that not even front-line U.S. fighter jets could meet the requirements as written.

On Friday, Hawker said it was pleased that the Air Force was taking more time to investigate. “This critical contract deserves to be fully, fairly and transparently vetted prior to being awarded,” said Hawker spokeswoman Nicole Alexander.

Van Buren earlier this month said he was not aware of any plans to revise the requirements for the plane, which Afghanistan needs to provide close air support for its army and as a turbo-prop training plane.

The cancellation of the Super Tucano contract is one of several U.S. orders Embraer has lost over the last 20 years. In the 1990s, the Super Tucano and Embraer in partnership with U.S.-based Northrop Grumman lost out as the joint fighter training aircraft for NATO after heavy lobbying from U.S. competitors.

In the mid-2000s, the Air Force also canceled a contract with Lockheed Martin Corp for an aerial reconnaissance plane that was to be based on the Embraer ERJ-145 regional jet.

[Guest]

Bring back TASS?

NO!

[TrainerModel]

I dont know shit about big blue acquisitions. But it seems that if you're the losing party, and and american company, you can throw a fit and absoulutley fvck over the whole process; trigger investigations, leave the AF hanging, and general buffoonery.

Why does this keep happening? Is it just the fact that someone is upset an American company didn't get the contract and freaks out?

[nsplayr]

If your company didn't get the contract and you have legal ways to f-up the other person getting it, why would you not? Seems especially true when you're an American company and your competitor is not, might as well play the patriotism card while you're at it...

[busdriver]

NO!

I'm curious why such a strong response? It seems like a reasonable idea for the more permissible environments, so obviously you know something I don't. Educate a rotor-head?

[Guest]

If you bring back the TASS you bring back the TASSholes.

Besides, we eradicted the word Tactical from our lexicon way back in the 90s, when TAC ate SAC.

[Daredevileng1]

Rumors of this have been circulating for a few months.

Exclusive: Hawker Beechcraft readies bankruptcy filing

By Soyoung Kim and Andrea Shalal-Esa

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON | Wed Mar 28, 2012 7:56pm EDT

(Reuters) - Hawker Beechcraft Inc, the aircraft manufacturer owned by Goldman Sachs Group Inc's (GS.N) private equity arm and Onex Corp (OCX.TO), is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection in the next several weeks, according to several people familiar with the matter.

Hawker, which was bought by the private equity firms in 2007 for $3.3 billion, is negotiating a prearranged bankruptcy with its largest lenders, which include Centerbridge Partners, Angelo Gordon and Capital Research & Management, these sources said on Wednesday.

Hawker and Onex declined to comment. Goldman Sachs and the lenders were not immediately available for comment.

The sources declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Centerbridge, a New York-based investment firm focused on leveraged buyouts and distressed investments, is the biggest lender, these sources said.

These lenders would also likely provide debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing to allow Hawker to continue to operate in bankruptcy, one of the sources said.

One of the sources also said the DIP financing is currently expected to be less than $500 million, but cautioned the number has not been finalized and could change.

Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, the bank's private equity fund, and Canada's largest buyout firm, Onex, bought Raytheon Aircraft Co from Raytheon Co (RTN.N) in early 2007, at the height of the buyout boom, and renamed it Hawker Beechcraft.

But the purchase has proven to be ill-timed. The financial crisis of 2008 and the subsequent economic downturn has led to a multiyear aviation industry downturn. The Wichita, Kansas-based manufacturer of business jets, general aviation turboprops and military trainers has seen sales of its small and medium-sized business jets fall.

Hawker competes against bigger U.S. rivals such as General Dynamics Corp's (GD.N) Gulfstream and Textron Inc's (TXT.N) Cessna, as well as foreign players like Brazil's Embraer SA (EMBR3.SA) and Canada's Bombardier (BBDb.TO).

Hawker is one of several buyouts from the 2006-2007 period to run into trouble. Several private equity firms at the time paid aggressive prices for companies, loading them up with huge piles of debt and hoping that economic growth would continue to sustain the investments. But the financial crisis put a spanner in their assumptions about growth, making these firms unviable.

TURNAROUND SPECIALIST

In February, the company's owners brought in turnaround specialist Steve Miller as chief executive officer. Hawker had previously hired Perella Weinberg Partners and law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP as financial and legal advisers.

Miller, who is also chairman of bailed-out insurer American International Group (AIG.N), is known for his ability to work with financially troubled companies and solve hard problems, even earning the moniker of "The Turnaround Kid" after he wrote a book in 2008 about his experiences fixing companies over the years.

Miller, who has come out of retirement several times to work on corporate restructurings, helped oversee bankruptcies of companies such as Delphi Corp and Federal-Mogul Corp (FDML.O).

On Tuesday, Hawker clinched interim financing. It reached a deal with lenders that will provide a $120 million loan and defer the company's obligations to make certain interest payments.

This forbearance agreement, scheduled to expire at the end of June, has provided Hawker with more time to finalize the details of a prearranged bankruptcy with the main lenders, said these same the sources.

DEBT LOAD

Hawker has a huge debt load stemming from its 2007 leveraged buyout and was hit especially hard by a sharp decline business jet sales after the financial crisis.

One of the sources familiar with Hawker's management thinking said that the company's business plan had projected a recovery in the business jet market beginning in 2010, but that had only started to materialize this year.

Earlier this year, Hawker lost a contract to build 20 light attack planes for the U.S. Air Force, losing out in the bid to U.S. defense contractor Sierra Nevada Corp and Embraer.

The Air Force later cancelled that contract citing inadequate documentation for the decision, giving Hawker -- which had challenged the contract award -- a chance to compete. But no details have been released on the follow-on competition and it remains unclear whether the financially distressed company has a better chance of winning this time.

"We view this as a positive development for Cessna and Embraer business jet orders," said Morgan Stanley analyst Heidi Wood in a research report responding to the Reuters story.

"Our discussions with our industry sources... have indicated increasing reluctance by business jet buyers to order jets from an OEM in serious financial straits," Wood said. "We expect both Cessna and Embraer to pick up share ceded by Hawker."

(Additional reporting by Nick Brown, Billy Cheung and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Paritosh Bansal, Andre Grenon, Phil Berlowitz and Bernard Orr)

[Marco]

Confirmed.

http://m.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2012/120503hawker-beechcraft-files-for-bankruptcy.html?WT.mc_id=120504epilot&WT.mc_sect=gan

Hawker Beechcraft files for bankruptcy

By Jim Moore

Hawker Beechcraft filed for federal bankruptcy protection May 3, simultaneously announcing plans to continue operation under new ownership.

The Wichita, Kan., aircraft maker entered a “pre-arranged” bankruptcy proceeding, with agreements in place to exchange debt—the company owes about $2.5 billion, according to recent filings and a news release—for equity in the company. The legal maneuver essentially promises to transfer ownership from Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Onex, which bought Raytheon Aircraft Co. from the Raytheon Company in 2007, and then renamed the company Hawker Beechcraft. The deal remains subject to court review and closing agreements.

CEO Robert “Steve” Miller, a corporate turnaround specialist hired in February, issued written statements in conjunction with the company’s announcement of a $400 million debtor in possession financing package that will allow Hawker Beechcraft to continue operating while the Chapter 11 process is under way.

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement with our largest lenders and bondholders on a solution to stabilize and improve our capital structure,” Miller said in a news release. “In the last three years, the company has made aggressive transformational changes in all operational functions, and today’s announcement represents the next step forward.”

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition was filed in the Southern District of New York, and provided few details of the future arrangements.

The company stated operations will continue “without interruption,” and specifically that deposits and progress payments will remain secure, with all orders to be fulfilled. The $400 million loan package is enough to keep the company stable during the planned restructuring, which a majority of creditors have endorsed, the company said.

“As we have worked to develop this long-term plan to recapitalize the company and strongly position Hawker Beechcraft for the future, our employees have continued to build the best airplanes in the world and provide our owners with the most comprehensive global customer support in the industry,” Miller said in the news release. “The protections provided by the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and the financing commitment we have obtained put Hawker Beechcraft in a great position to continue to do so throughout the restructuring process.”

Hawker Beechcraft has been shedding payroll and struggling to stay afloat since the Great Recession struck in 2008. Most recently, company officials announced the elimination of 350 jobs in Wichita, following a November layoff of 300, and hundreds more before that. The company lost more than $630 million in 2011, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing in April that called into question the company’s ability to continue operation.

The company said there would be no impact on research and development projects, such as the Hawker 400XPR jet, an update of the Hawker 400A and Beechjet 400A models. A spokesperson said the company name was not expected to change.

edit to add story

Edited May 4, 2012 by Marco

[Learjetter]

Hopefully there will be a fly-off when this goes full circle....

Nope.

http://defense.aol.c...test=latestnews

[Winchester]

Nope.

http://defense.aol.c...test=latestnews

oooo..Taco Gilbert...there is a name I havent heard in a while...shit with him, Big Blue, and SNC on the job this program will be just fine....

[Dupe]

Here's a few reasons to not have a fly-off:

-It takes time, and you want to acquire this thing faster

-it costs you double the development money to fund two (or more) contractors to produce developmental articles

-You think the acquisition is technically simple enough to not be needed

-You risk a contractor going out of business during the evaluation (which will certainly change the proposal from the other competitor)

-You think a fly-off puts one contractor at a significant advantage (this is really why Taco wants a fly-off...Emb/SNC has a much more developed product. He's expecting that to shine through a fly-off. I think the increased development costs for H-B will be evident in their proposal)

Do we really need a fly-off for something as simple as a fixed wing aircraft with a sensor ball and a few hard points? No. If we're not trying to get contractors to figure out different technology paths for something revolutionary (like..say a Joint Strike Fighter, Advanced Tactical Fighter, or Net Enabled Weapon), then no need to pay double or more for development costs while the clock continues to run. All I think the AF needs on this one is a firm fixed price contract with severe penalties for schedule delays. From there, let the proposal submissions decide. We didn't ask for a KC-X fly-off. No need to here either.

[Spur38]

Agree! No fly off needed...just put them next to each other on the ramp....Super T hands down!

[youngpj]

Agree! No fly off needed...just put them next to each other on the ramp....Super T hands down!

I have heard that hawker's propsal could not result in a successful aircraft. Performance aside, Hawker is a nightmare to work with on the T-6...that alone should be enough to convince folks. On the other hand, SNC is probably the best defense contractor to work with, not to mention they have a lot of experience in buying CDA and modding them.

[Winchester]

SNC is probably the best defense contractor to work with.

Say experience.