$950 Million
— The ceiling cost of a Pentagon contract awarded Wednesday to provide the fledgling Afghan air force with 20 Light Air Support Aircraft. The initial $427 million award to Sierra Nevada Corp. of Sparks, Nev., and its Brazilian partner, Embraer SA, will buy the planes and “one computer based trainer, one basic aviation training device, one flight training device, six mission planning stations, six mission debrief systems, long lead spares for interim contractor support, outside the continental United States base activation, site surveys, flight certification to U.S. Air Force military type certification standards, and data.” The turbo-prop aircraft are part of the Pentagon’s plan to leave Afghanistan with sufficient force to battle the Taliban after U.S. combat troops pull out by the end of 2014. Beechcraft was the losing bidder.
Not World War II-era P-51 Mustangs, but A-29 Super Tuscanos bound for Afghanistan.
