For this type I would prefer Hellfires, laser-guided FFARs and guns.
During two weeks of testing in late September and earlier this month at the Barry M. Goldwater Range in Arizona, company pilots dropped four 500-pound GBU-12 Paveway II and four 250-pound GBU-58 Paveway II laser-guided bombs as well as practice munitions. All eight weapons scored hits on their intended targets, Hawker Beechcraft said. The AT-6 also performed .50-caliber machine gun testing against a towed target.
5 comments:
'This kind of aircraft', if robustly deployed to A-stan in relevant 150-200 airframe numbers (whomever with, be it in combination of USSOCOM, US Army, USMC, or even USAF) back in 2008-2009, instead of just talked-about and debated over in inner circles, would have been the single most cost-effective and truly game-changing armed-recon and light CAS air asset in that theatre of mission to date.
Operated from LHD/LHA or even remote landing strips, it could have most recently changed entire doctrines of conducting low-intensity BAI and CAS operations and tactics for a fraction of the cost.
With regards to this kind of aircraft as it relates to future US armed forces procurement, even post-Iraq and post-A-stan, this 'type' should be aggressively evaluated and procured by at least one service or command as a future core capability. imho.
For the price of a couple of F35s we probably could buy a dozen of these and operate them for a couple of years. That way if we find ourselves again stuck in a place like Afghanistan (more than likely), we would have a core group of trainers and experience/SOP operating these props. These are relatively cheap to buy, operate and produce, we could then decide to buy 50 or more when needed.
Not every conflict the USA is going to get involved in needs for full bore VLO or capability to shoot down SU30s.
At least, unlike the F35, it can drop bombs, now.
I saw this story kicking around a week or so ago, and searching again I see it's just turned up on CDR Salamander. Have a look.
http://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/2011/10/what-happens-when-you-are-decade-late.html
-mike j
Has anybody else had a flashback to the Douglas Skyraiders (go here for the uninitiated: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Skyraider) and the ridiculous amount of ordnance they were carrying in VietNam? History repeating itself yet again, and for the same reasons...
Post a Comment