The OV-10 Is Even Older Than the A-10 And It's Fighting ISIS Too [View all]

[jakeXT]

The OV-10 Bronco first flew in 1965, nearly a decade before the A-10, and the warplane has been out of active service since 1995. But we know now that last summer two OV-10s flew 120 combat missions, likely in Iraq and Syria, in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, the American-led campaign against ISIS.

An article in The Daily Beast this week revealed that two OV-10s, a Vietnam-era turboprop light attack aircraft, operated over a span of 82 days beginning sometime around May 2015, possibly in conjunction with U.S. special operations forces. A spokesman for U.S. Central Command told the site that the military's goal (aside from aiding special operators) was "to determine if properly employed turbo-prop driven aircraft… would increase synergy and improve the coordination between the aircrew and ground commander."

That's an interesting development, especially in the context of reports that the Air Force is studying a possible replacement for the A-10 for close-air-support (CAS) in low-intensity environments without advanced air defenses. The proposed aircraft would be small, cost effective, persistent, and possibly turboprop-driven. That sounds remarkably like the early 1960s thinking that gave birth to the OV-10.

The Bronco was conceived by retired Marine W.H. Beckett and active Marine Lt. Col. KP Rice. They envisioned a small, rugged airplane that could fly faster than the contemporary crop of armed military helicopters, but slow enough to support troops on the ground. They believed in their concept so much they built a fiberglass prototype in a garage and showed it to North American/Rockwell. North American liked the concept enough to pitch it for the joint-service Light Armed Reconnaissance Aircraft requirement issued by the Pentagon in 1963. Chosen over 10 other proposals in 1964, the airplane began testing in 1965.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a19887/ov-10-war-isis/