Get Me This Cessna!

Normally when I think of Cessna I don't think of sexy military planes.  This new offering changes my perspective.  In truth its not really a Cessna, its made by Textron, the parent company of Cessna and is being marketed to countries like Switzerland and others with aging fleets of expensive fighter jets that may not have much of a purpose.  When you are only doing border patrols, disaster response and recon with very limited military applications (as is the case with most Northern European countries and other minimal conflict first world countries) you don't need upgraded F-16s or near current generation fighters--nor their associated cost.

So what is developed here is a low cost, low maintenance airframe that will do (reportedly) 90% of what a high end Western fighter jet will do including air to ground operations.  Dubbed the Scorpion Multirole Jet, its air to air capability appears limited without air to air radar and A2A missile capability though I'm sure in the future that will be an "option".  To me it looks a bit like a fixed wing version of the F-14 with the large canopy, dual seating and canted stabilizers.

Regardless, I could see a big market in countries like Columbia, Brazil, and most of South America and Africa and Southeast Asia as customers as well.  Counter insurgency and other low impact conflicts would seem custom made for the application of this jet.  Put a few of these together with a few Super Tucano's and you've got the start of a great little private air force....

Scorpion Jet....