pretty little activity here at the moment 😮
To get things going again a video containing some interesting shots of EO mercenaries with Angolan MiG-23s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-6VAYW-CDA

What is interesting is that it is almost exactly the same as the one of Kazakh An-2s.

But the LTTE paints its technicals in a similar camo so i doubt there is any connection.

…no he’s referring to the Gripen.

The problem is many people still don’t understand assymetric warfare. “It’s big, looks mean and makes BOOOOM.”
That sort of thinking worked during the cold war not today.

During the early stages of the Colombian civil war Colombia had
F-80 Shooting Stars, T-33 T-Birds, F-86 Sabres, F-47 Thunderbolts
and this aircraft armed with machine-guns

now guess which one they preferred…

Vulnerability could indeed be a problem, I just read that during the Venezuelan coup one was shot down by a 12,7mm machine gun, and that during a single day of operations.

I think good view should be a top priority.

Mit more modern and smaller electroncs available, perhaps one could add a FLIR system without lengthening the nose?
Or what about a frameless front-canopy?

How many countries are still using the Bronco?
If I remember correctly they are still used by Venezuela (will be replaced by Mi-28) Colombia, Morocco, the Phillipines and indonesia. But I’m not too sure about the last two ones. I think their fleet was grounded after some fatal accidents, at least temporarily.

I don’t know whether a single seat version would be a good idea. Target identification is something very important for COIN missions, after all collateral damage will only strengthen your enemy. And for that task, even with all advanced technology, two humans are still preferable over a single one.

But thanks for the links 😀 IA-58C pics are notoriously hard to find.

It’s too slow and specialized for the USAF

Yes it is a specialised COIN aircraft and as the US does not fight any insurgency there is no need for it.

Forgive me, but didn’t the Marines retire the last of their Broncos in the mid-90s? First, why did they no longer deem it a necessary capability?

Because at that time the US’ biggest military concern were Bosnian Serb SAMs and not Islamist insurgents.

This is a niche market situated between the countries that are too poor to buy any meaningful aircraft to speak of and those countries able to buy more capable types that introducing an entirely new entry in the market does’t seem a good to me.

Just because a plane is faster, heavier and more expenisve does not mean it is more useful for COIN tasks.