Search:

A bit too late to suggest different airframes: The US Department of State is currently using DC-3s as COIN aircraft in Afghanistan, as we speak.

I "get" that there may be some more optimal...

DC-3s also have a very light wing loading, which gives them really decent STOL characteristics, but make for a very bumpy ride in turbulence.

To me, it satisfy the real multirole mode and economy...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/120mm/P2240589-1.jpg

You rang???

Passenger/freight carrier, ISR platform and fire support, all in one dependable, loiter time rich and cheap airframe.
...

I've served as S2 in a DIV CAV SQDN, and trust me, the Scout Pilots generally don't give a rat's patootie about SAMs. THEY sweat the small caliber AAA, RPGs and especially guys with scoped rifles.

Still, not really COIN aircraft. Light Attack = Just one small piece of the COIN "pie".

Anyone else remember in the '90s when the conspiracy theorists asserted that these OV-10s were going to be used to assist in the takeover of the US by the "shadow gov't?"

I'm sure that footage is...

And I can't find the book anywhere. You ARE a sadistic tease, you know that?

carl,

I want something small enough to land on the road next to my CP, so the AD1 is a bit much. But agreed on the uselessness of stealth in a COIN environment.

OV-10s can and have carried...

Based on the COIN Aircraft thread, I've started up some medium-duty research, when I discovered a couple of nice papers on-line by the designer/builder of the most successful military aircraft ever...

I NEED that book. I'll see if CARL has it.

Edited to say: CARL doesn't have the book, and neither does USAREUR libraries.

Here is a gratuitous 3 view of a REAL COIN aircraft:
...

Carl from Kinhasa and I had an interesting discussion via PM where we discussed the prevalence of TBD/TBF aircraft in Africa. One of the reason they were so common then, and are still being used in...

Sorry for taking so long to respond, as I was in Slovakia. This article describes why the USMC should be The Model for Air Force/Army cooperation. As a CAV guy, we really appreciated knowing and...

Close, but no cigar: "UNINHABITED Aerial System. And I am no fan of UAS for COIN outside of the "eye in the sky". I was just pointing out that they were not that "advanced" technology. The tech...

Turboprops give you the benefit of very low maintenance and use of a common fuel. Piston aircraft require much more maintenance and use special fuel.

It's important to remember what a COIN...

I hate to reply to my own post, but I thought it important to point out that "sophisticated 'Uninhabited Aerial Systems" (replaces UAV) are no longer out of reach of even the most primitive...

We already have a thread on what kind of requirements that non-kinetic airpower should bring to the battlefield.

As the first step to fighting an insurgency is breaking up formed...

imho, the armed UAS like the Predator has all the drawbacks of the Tomahawk, LGB and LGMs do: You're "guessing" that the truck are the bad guys and not a truck full of women and kids.

I'm not a...

I like the OV-10 Bronco, better.

I found this, unattributed, at BCKS COIN forum

Development of sensor packages could aid Pentagon's plans for dedicated COIN air fleet
A shift in Defense Dept. focus and the development of...

Using Air Power against insurgents does more than create collateral damage and more insurgents. Using Air Power delegitimizes our efforts to fight and beat the insurgents. In the minds of the folks...