Ravn Aerospace, formerly known as AirUSA, is an American defense contractor based at

Houston Spaceport The Houston Spaceport is a federally licensed commercial spaceport located in Houston, Texas, United States. Situated on at Ellington Airport (Texas), Ellington Airport (EFD), the spaceport is managed by the Houston Airport System, a departmen ...

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. It offers adversary air,

close air support Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires ...

Joint Terminal Attack Controller Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) is the term used in the United States Armed Forces and some other military forces for a qualified service member who directs the action of military aircraft engaged in close air support and other offensive ...

, and

Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance ISTAR stands for Military intelligence, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, #ISTAR, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employ ...

training to the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

. Ravn Aero's first aircraft, a Czech

Aero L-39 Albatros The Aero L-39 Albatros is a high-performance jet trainer designed and produced by Aero Vodochody in the Czech Republic. In addition to performing basic and advanced pilot training, it has also flown combat missions in a light-attack role. Desp ...

, was purchased in 1994. Then, two years later, the company purchased two

Mikoyan MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG-29, along with the larger Suk ...

s from

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

. In 2019, AirUSA was one of seven companies awarded an IDIQ contract to support the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

's Combat Air Force Contract Air Support (CAF CAS) program in October 2019. In March 2020 the Australian Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price announced that up to 46 ex-Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18 Hornets, as well as associated spare parts and test equipment inventory, would be sold to AirUSA. In December 2021 the ''Australian Defence Magazine'' reported that the status of the Australian Hornet sale was "unknown". The contract to sell former RAAF Hornets to Ravn Aerospace lapsed in December 2023 with none having been transferred.

World Aerospace Museum

The company briefly operated the World Aerospace Museum at the Quincy Regional Airport near

Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ) is a city in Adams County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Mississippi River, the population was 39,463 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 40,633 in 2010. The Quincy, Illinois, mic ...

History

Prior to becoming Ravn Aerospace, the company was known as AirUSA. Following the introduction of the BAE Systems Hawk 67 acquired from the

Republic of Korea Air Force The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF; ), also known as the ROK Air Force or South Korean Air Force, is the Air force, aerial and Space force, space warfare service branch of South Korea, operating under the Ministry of National Defense (South K ...

(ROKAF), two accidents occurred, with the latter resulting in the death of an innocent bystander on the ground. The subsequent

National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inci ...

investigation found substantial shortcomings in operational procedures, including deviations from the approved flight manual, and an inadequate stores clearance of a SUU-20 stores dispenser. The

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

subsequently prohibited further use of the Hawk on CAS contracts and they were stored until being reactivated to support the CAF CAS program in 2019.

Fleet

As of July 2024, Ravn Aerospace possesses or has purchased: * 6

* 10 BAE Systems Hawk 67 (formerly South Korean) * 5

Pilatus PC-9 The Pilatus PC-9 is a single-engine, low-wing tandem-seat turboprop training aircraft designed and manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. Developed as a more powerful evolution of the preceding Pilatus PC-7, the PC-9 features an enlar ...

(formerly Australian) * 17 Cessna T337 Turbo Skymaster * 10 Northrop F-5E Tiger II

References

{{Reflist, 30em Aerospace companies of the United States American companies established in 1994 Manufacturing companies based in Illinois Defence companies

World Aerospace Museum

History

Fleet

See also

References