Saudi Arabia is in talks over the possible orders of the batch of Scorpion light attack aircraft. That was reported by FlightGlobal.com.
According to Scott Donnelly, chief executive of parent company Textron, Saudia Arabia is one of a number of customers it is in talks with over the developmental aircraft.
The Scorpion ground attack aircraft was developed by Textron AirLand as a private venture. It is a joint venture between Textron and Airland Enterprises.
Scorpion has a composite airframe powered by twin turbofan engines with a tandem cockpit, retractable sensor mounts, internal payload bay, and external stores carriage for precision and non-precision munitions. Its modular architecture allows unencumbered future integration of multiple sensors and weapons, minimizing non-recurring expenses.
| Aircraft Length | 45 ft 6 in |
| Wingspan | 47 ft 10 in |
| Height | 13 ft 4 in |
| Standard Empty Weight | 12,700 lbs |
| Max Takeoff Weight | 22,000 lbs |
| Max Internal Fuel Load | 6,000 lbs |
| Max Internal Payload Bay | 3,000 lbs |
| Thrust | ~8,000 lbs |
| Max Speed | 450 KTAS |
| Service Ceiling | 45,000 ft |
| Ferry Range (w/o auxiliary Fuel) | 1,600 NM |
| Ferry Range (with auxiliary Fuel) | 2,200 NM |
The Scorpion can do light attack, reconnaissance, domestic interdiction, air patrol and training. This aircraft is limited to low threat battlefield missions. However it outperforms turboprop aircraft in terms of range, endurance and sensors. It is claimed that aircraft is rugged enough to sustain minimal damage. Unlike most ground attack aircraft the Scorpion uses many commercially available off-the-shelf components for the business jets, mostly form the Cessna inventory.