In 1954 several European aircraft manufacturers started to develop designs for a Light Weight Strike Fighter (LWSF). The blueprints were based on a NATO requirement, itself the result of a study completed by the European Headquarters Allied Air Forces Central Europe (AIRCENT). At that time, AIRCENT was under the command of ACM Sir Basil Embry RAF. The primary purpose of the LWSF was close air support (CAS) - the protection and bolstering of ground operations. Technical details of the planned aircraft in the NATO documents comprised a maximum take-off weight of 10,3621b (4,700kg), a top speed of Mach 0.95 and a combat range of 172 miles (277km). Additionally, the aircraft was required to operate from grass or minor airstrips. Following considerable interest by many aircraft manufacturers, just five prototypes, mainly French, reached the final evaluation at Bretigny-sur-Orge Air Base in France. The contest ended in victory for the Fiat G.91 and consequently NATO recommended to its member countries that they should make it the organisation's main CAS aircraft.
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