A highly modified version of the T-6 training aircraft has been flown at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in a flight test project run by the Air National Guard and Reserve:

In appearance, Hawker Beechcraft AT-6Cs resemble the fighters of yesteryear with single engine propellers and shark-face nose art. They are, in actuality, one possible candidate for Air Force light attack aircraft and the latest project for Air National Guard Air Force Reserve Command Test Center officials based at Tucson International Airport.

The T-6s pictured have wing-mounted tanks and what appears to be an underbelly targeting ball.

Though there is not yet a defined purchase for the military, there are suggestions the aircraft could be used for light attack, trainers for ground controllers, US domestic border security, drug enforcement, and even disaster response.

Interestingly, this article is a mere 5 months after Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz assured a group that the US Air Force wasn’t in the market for a light attack aircraft.