Because Embraer had a combat-proven product ready for delivery. Hawker Beechcraft has promiseware.
An examination, not from Hawker-Beechcraft fluffers
Perhaps we should buy some SU-27s, after all they are a combat proven product ready for delivery.
Perhaps Embraer does make a better product... but if that were the case the USAF would have come right out and said so.
But they didn’t.
They gave no reason to HBC for their exclusion from the bidding, and then very quietly awarded to project to EMB.
Put another way: the AT-6 is a prototype. The Super Tocano has tooling, a supply network and could very quickly have a factory up and running.
The A-29 is at the starting line while the AT-6 doesn’t have it’s track shoes on yet.
Another critical difference: Kansas is a republican state while Florida could go either way.