Bird Dogs for the Iraqi Air Force

Bird Dogs for the Iraqi Air Force
05-Oct-2009 10:33 EDT

Iraq’s air force has been very slow in getting to its feet. A handful of Seeker light observation aircraft with their distinctive bubble-shaped fronts, a few Comp Air light propeller aircraft, a couple of old, refurbished C-130E transports, and a handful of helicopters. A few Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350s have been ordered for transport and surveillance duties, and an RFP for armed counterinsurgency aircraft has resulted in an official sales request, but decisions to date have ensured that the Iraqi air force is still a long way from being able to secure Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. While it continues to grow, its primary duties remain troop/medical transport, light supply duties, and surveillance of roads and infrastructure.

That kind of surveillance doesn’t require high tech, high-end aircraft. The USAF has been using F-16 and F/A-18 aircraft at $15,000 per flight hour, plus recapitalization amortization. Iraq’s solution offers a significant contrast to the American approach – and armed AC-208 variants are about to enter operation…

Light propeller aircraft like Cessna’s L-19 “Bird Dog” and O-2 successor worked very well in Vietnam. Their modern descendants can be outfitted with modern surveillance turrets plus “Mk1 eyeballs and ears” for a fraction of a fighter jet’s acquisition and amortization cost, in order to do more or less the same ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) job. They’ll also crash less often than expensive UAVs, and are more suitable for fledgling air forces. Specialty models like the Schweizer RU-38 Twin Condor even add acoustic silencing, plus more mission space for dedicated surveillance equipment.

The “Bird Dog” concept certainly fits the IqAF’s profile and support capabilities, and was initially slated to serve as a trainer aircraft. Sure enough, statements from people on the front lines suggest that Cessna aircraft are in fact acquiring other IqAF roles as well.

Meanwhile, deliveries are underway.

Read more about the Bird Dog.