On Tuesday, October 26, a prototype aircraft for American special forces was presented in Poland. MC-145B Special Operations Multi-Role Aircraft (SOMA) was developed as part of the US Special Operations Command (US SOCOM) Armed Overwatch project. This is reported by the Defense Express agency.
The aircraft is a joint development of the Polish company PZL Mielec (part of Lockheed Martin Helicopter) and the American Sierra Nevada Corporation. The plane was assembled in Poland, and equipment was installed on the finished car in the USA.
The MC-145B is based on the PZL M28 Skytruck aircraft, which became the development of a licensed copy of the Soviet An-28. The new car received reinforced wing elements, mounts for additional equipment and an enlarged nose. Protection of the MC-145B is provided by a set of sensors with an AN/ALE-47 jamming station.
The aircraft received modern satellite communication systems and an optoelectronic system with an optical channel and a thermal imager. The MC-145B added four suspension points for weapons and additional equipment. The aircraft can carry containers with equipment for electronic warfare and reconnaissance.
The MC-145B can be armed with AGM-114 Hellfire guided missiles, unguided missiles and GBU-39 StormBreaker gliding bombs. The aircraft also received eight launch tubes with drones and equipment for launching the AGM-158 JASSM cruise missile.
Certification of the aircraft is planned to be completed in 2022. This will allow the delivery of serial machines to begin in 2023. Defense Express notes that the US Special Operations Command can order up to 75 aircraft.
Earlier, the magazine The Military Watch published pictures of a new modification of the Chinese fifth-generation fighter J-20. It is believed that the photo shows a two-seat version of the aircraft.
Daniil Irinin
