How Long Has the Machete Series Been Under Development?
The original Machete concepts were developed in 2000, yet actual design work did not begin until 2003. In 2005 Stavatti met with USAF Planners at the Pentagon as well as Air Force Battlelabs studying COIN and based upon their suggestions, a major redesign effort was undertaken which lead to the creation of the 3 Machete Variants (SM-27S/T Turboprop, SM-27J/L Turbofan and SM-47S/T Air Defense Fighter). In 2007 the design underwent a second review which focused upon increasing the aircraft internal fuel load, weapons carriage and powerplant configuration, which lead to a larger aircraft. The current design was frozen earlier this year, with engineering of the current design beginning in May 2009. The Machete design has undergone significant evolution over the past 9 years, going from paper concept to Solidworks/CATIA CAD engineering files which by the end of this year will be ready for prototype production. Our emphasis has rested upon making major changes during concept design, rather t
