Textron AirLand's Scorpion jet will be offered to Britain's Ministry of Defense for its upcoming Air Support to Defense Operational Training program.

The offering is being made by QinetiQ and Thales, who with Textron announced their memorandum of understanding at the Farnborough International Airshow in Britain.

QinetiQ and Thales said they are to offer operational training activities that will comprise the ASDOT program, which are now being fulfilled by a number of providers. Their team will propose an innovative, cost-effective, and technologically advanced managed service using the Scorpion jet equipped with Thales and QinetiQ sensors to provide a broad spectrum of training for all three of Britain's military services.

QinetiQ will offer the operation of a mixed fleet of Scorpion and other platforms – including maintenance and provision of pilots.

Integration of sensors and jamming pods into the aerial fleet will be featured and the aircraft will be compliant with military airworthiness regulations.

"Our test and evaluation pedigree makes us ideally placed to introduce the highly capable Scorpion for use in the ASDOT program," said Steve Wadey, QinetiQ chief executive officer. "our people are experts in cost effective aircraft operation, providing significant savings to the MOD while offering the highest standard of support to UK defense operational training."

Thales will deliver fully managed training services and customized training equipment, such as full mission simulators for leading air platforms.

Textron's Scorpion is a new tactical aircraft with a center payload bay, six hard points, high dash speeds and extended endurance and loiter time. It was built to excel in many roles, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, close air support, armed reconnaissance, maritime and border patrol and jet training missions.

The competitive MOD contract is expected to be awarded in 2018 and could be worth more than $1.5 billion over a 15-year period.