re: #354 Targetpractice

The decision in favor of the A-29’s already being disputed in the courts, which seems to now be SOP when it comes to weapons procurement where foreign competitors are allowed to compete against US companies. Seems like every time it happens and the US company loses, they try to fight it out in court while at the same time lobbying Congress to decide in their favor.

I wrote about this at some length for a local blog:

We discussed this with some callers yesterday on the radio show. There is a lot of misleading propaganda about the selection of this “foreign” aircraft over the “American” Hawker-Beechcraft AT-6 for the USAF’s new Light Air Support program. This is malarkey, horse manure, concocted by cynical lobbyists to exploit misinformed patriotism. In fact, the AT-29 will be built in a new plant in Fort Lauderdale, Fl and will provide at least as many American jobs as the Hawker-Beechcraft competitor. The link provides a long list of AT-29 sub-contractors in the US, including some right here in Texas. The Hawker-Beechcraft AT-6 itself, touted as an American product, is also a foreign design, from Switzerland, and would have been partially built in a new plant in Mexico. Even Brazilian made AT-29s have a large percentage of US made components, including most of the electronics and weapons systems. Both aircraft use the same Canadian built engine. Built for the Mission, AT-29 Super-Tucano official website.