After years of ground troops begging for something lower, slower, and with more short field capability, it is the US Navy that is considering a solution, the Super Tucano turboprop trainer configured for the light attack mission.

You could probably buy 50 of these aircraft for the price of one JSF, and it can loiter over the battle area for a much longer period of time, and spot things that the fast movers would miss.

Shades of the A-1 Skyraider, which wasn’t a USAF idea either.

Naval aviation is fighting it, because, well, has a propeller and all, but it looks like this will actually be used, because it’s what the guy on the ground needs.