Comments on: A COIN Aircraft Comeback

By: Airplane Travel Portal

Airplane Travel Portal — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:13:34 +0000

That SM-27 looks great, a bit like a mix between an F-18, F-5 and a Gripen (frontal small wings)… as it looks to me.
I was wondering for many years why small ground support aircraft have almost disappeared. It was pretty much the “great fighters” like the F-16, Mig-29 and the “small trainers” like the L-39, Hawk and now the M346…
It was time they invented a combination fo the 2 categories.
This new COIN aircraft sure looks great!
Too bad there isn’t any of it flying already.

By: Nathan

Nathan — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 23:12:15 +0000

I would say to bring back the A-1 Skyraider. The plane proved itself and worked quiet well. A big thing would be cost…one could probably purchase several Syraiders for the price of one A-10.
Update the Skyraider and put it into use again.

By: Robyn

Robyn — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 18:51:13 +0000

My two cents on a couple of observations. The rationale for an exportable aircraft in COIN is more about winning than getting our "lesser-funded coalition partners do the COIN dirty work." Outside powers do not win inside wars--outsiders pick a side and help them win their own war. Big difference. Also explains why a lot of "high tech" platform options are marginal as long-term solutions. Can't just "do" COIN; must be able to teach. In the "fun" to talk about category (picking platforms), Cessna Caravans work because they are in production but I still like the OV-10D (no production) and the AC-47T (limited production as BT-67T by Basler-Turbo). R2

By: KFRtoad

KFRtoad — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 06:57:54 +0000

>How is the C-LVL different from the Groen Hawk 4/Hawk 5 Gyroplanes,are they all related?
Roy,
They are related in the sense that they are both autogyros. The C-LVL TOAD is a third the price and has a mechanically much simpler design (4 stroke Rotax engine and simple rotor head) so it is easier to maintain. It is also a much smaller machine that can be moved on the back of a pick up truck so it can be drove along the unit it is supported till needed.

By: Roy Smith

Roy Smith — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 05:09:01 +0000

Even former Air Force & Navy A-7 Corsairs would probably make great COIN aircraft,& if I understand correctly,we still have quite a few of them stored away in the Boneyard.Maybe we need a “fifth(not the Coast Guard)” armed service totally dedicated to flying the slow,ugly,“s****y” planes that the Air Force refuses to fly.This new armed service could be named the U.S. “Not the Ones Who Fly F-22s & F-35s” Force.

By: Roy Smith

Roy Smith — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 05:02:41 +0000

I’m sure there are bad guys in South America who sweat profusely whenever a Super Tucano flies overhead.I watched on You Tube a drug plane being shot down by a Super Tucano.Some probably think that the Super Tucano is as threatening as a man with a high pitched voice.However,if that high pitched voice belongs to Mike Tyson in his heyday,then people start sweating in fear.I’m very sure that the enemy can learn to fear COIN planes like the AT-6 Texan II,A-67 Dragon,& EMB-314 Super Tucano as much as they fear the A-10 Warthog.Its a very big shame that we got rid of our OV-1 Mohawks,OV-10 Broncos,& A/OA-37 Dragonflies,all very appropriate aircraft for COIN operations.In fact,if we still had them,we wouldn’t be having this discussion about AT-6 Texan IIs,A-67 Dragons,& EMB-314 Super Tucanos.We’d instead be discussing what great “training” aircraft they(the AT-6 Texan II,A-67 Dragon,& EMB-314 Super Tucano) are.

By: Smith

Smith — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 03:13:43 +0000

The A-10 is probably the best example of a realistic COIN aircraft in service today. It has two turbofans as opposed to a single prop, thereby being redundant while also having extra power for heavy loads. The A-10 can also slow down and orbit, which fast movers can’t do.
The 30mm is impressive, but the better part of the deal are the many wing stations. You have the potential for many small munitions and observation pods.
You also have to have a combat A/C as the basis for a COIN A/C, because it would be politically impossible to just put weapons in a Cessna and call it good. Despite being an easy and effective solution, up-arming a Cargomaster is not something that would fly through Congress or the Pentagon, because its lightness and lack of all the latest survival/navigation/attack gizmos would be hen-pecked to death before reaching the Senate floor. As sad as the situation is, the political hurdle would be too great.
But the most important piece is psychological — the A-10 is the most feared A/C by insurgents in Iraq. A show of force with an A-10 flying low and dropping flares has the ability to disperse an insurgent group with a lower likelihood of shots being fired. Could a Super Tucano generate that kind of presence?

By: John Moore

John Moore — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:15:27 +0000

You are going to talk long and hard to get the Air Force to sign off on a COIN aircraft, because they are for the fast (costly) fighters. They don

By: John Moore

John Moore — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:14:32 +0000

You are going to talk long and hard to get the Air Force to sign off on a COIN aircraft, because they are for the fast (costly) fighters. They don

By: Roy Smith

Roy Smith — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 20:46:34 +0000

SSG Yankee Medic,
I haven’t seen anything that says that we have any OV-1 Mohawks & OV-10 Broncos in storage anywhere.We seem to have sold our OV-10s off to Colombia,VENEZUELA,Indonesia,Thailand,& the Philippines & our OV-1s to Argentina & South Korea.Single prop aircraft is better than what we have now,which is NOTHING(yes all of you Predator UAS defenders out there,NOTHING!!!).God,it would be so nice to still have our OV-1 Mohawks,OV-10 Broncos,& A/OA-37 Dragonflies,but thanks to both Cheney in the Bush,Sr. administration & Clinton,we don’t.Rumsfeld NEVER had the vision to replace these weapons & Gates doesn’t seem to get it either.The Air Force does not want any other airframe other than the F-22 & the F-35,& we all know what kind of COIN aircraft both of those make.