Cessna launches its first military jet

The Scorpion, a light jet for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and attack, was introduced at the Air Force Association Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition in Maryland, USA,
The prototype was designed from scratch and built at Cessna in Wichita, in secrecy, beginning in early 2012, company officials said Monday.
According to Textron the first flight is scheduled for later this year, and low-volume production is likely 2015. Testing and early production will be done in Wichita.
“We began development of the Scorpion in January 2012 with the objective to design, build and fly the world’s most affordable tactical jet aircraft capable of performing lower-threat battlefield and homeland security missions,” Textron chairman and CEO Scott Donnelly said in a statement. “We relied on commercial best practices to develop a tactical jet platform with flexibility and capabilities found only in far more costly aircraft.”
Although Textron said the Scorpion could operate for the US Department of Defense, it is the foreign market that appears to be more attractive, particularly in the developing world.
The nearly all-composite aircraft features technology used in the Citation business jets.
Cessna say the Scorpion will be much less expensive to buy and operate than other military jets with estimates show it will cost $2,500 to $3,000 per hour to fly vs. $25,000 to $30,000 per hour for an F-35 for example.
As a light attack aircraft, the Scorpion will compete in the market against Embraer’s Super Tucano and Beechcraft’s AT-6 turboprops. It could also be utilised as a jet trainer.