The EA-50 Khamsin is a PALA strike/electronic warfare aircraft. Its distinctive profile comes from a pair of 95kn dry turbofans mounted above its moderately-swept low-aspect (~5.5) shoulder wing. The pilot and WSO sit side-by side in the space provided by the wide body, in front of a modular bomb bay, capable of mounting 3 or 6-slot rotary munitions containers, or a large electronic warfare package, before tapering off to a standard vertical stabilizer, with anhedral horizontal stabilizers & a notable ventral strake. The high engines are ducted into internally blown flaps & an advanced circulation control system. This allows it to easily take off and land from STOBAR carriers like the Hyperion-class, utilizing the blown flaps for excellent takeoff lift even at MTOW, and the CCW to lower its stall speed enough that it can come cruising in at under 200 km/h for landings, without turning the airframe into a slow-flying bomb truck.
Role-wise, the Khamsin serves a comparable purpose to the A-19, in carrying large amounts of anti-ground ordnance on a cheaper-to-operate platform than a strike fighter, but trades the loitering potential of the propfan-powered A-19 and its massive forest of pylons, rockets and guns for a large internal bay and a much higher top speed and TWR. The Khamsin darts in at low altitude, drops a large bomb load, and pulls back out. The thrust and payload profile also makes it excel at lobbing glide munitions long distances.
Alternatively, replacing the bomb bay with a large electronic warfare suite allows it to handle SEAD/DEAD missions, especially against radar-guided SAM sites, where the combination of glide bombs and jamming is most effective. Wing pylons alone are all it has for munitions load in this configuration, but can carry solid amounts comparable to other heavy strike craft due to the relatively short and thick wings.
