Thoma Yosip
FULL MEMBER
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2011
- Messages
- 132
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There is a need to think outside of the box. This aircraft is for counter insurgency and light attack. While F-16s and F-18s and JF-17s can drop precision weapons into "pickle barrels," they are unacceptable for actually seeing what is on the ground because they are so fast and because they cannot stay around very long due to their prodigous fuel usage. The AT-802U is slow; it carries a heavy load of weaponry and fuel; and it can stay in the air for a long time. Another thing is that being derived from a cropduster it is easy to maintain even in primitive conditions. There is nothing glamorous about this thing, so the "zipper-suited thundergods" will hate it.
For the cost of one F-16 you should be able to buy 8 to 10 of these. They can fly from almost anywhere, can be maintained from almost anywhere, can carry sensors (including four Mk. 1 eyeballs for the big picture), can carry a large load of weaponry, and can stay in the air for hours over a target area, a moving friendly unit or convoy.
I like the EMB-314 Super Tucano and the AT-6B Texan II for commonality with modern training aircraft and for their looks. However, I can see soldiers flying the AT-802U from landing strips carved out of jungle, desert, mountains, and fields.
The A-37 is out of production. The OV-10 is a large, twin-engined, expensive airplane that is also out of production. The A-1 Skyraider is out of production and needlessly complex for this type of operation.
UAVs with this kind of loiter time are expensive and cannot see the big picture or carry this kind of load.
For the cost of one F-16 you should be able to buy 8 to 10 of these. They can fly from almost anywhere, can be maintained from almost anywhere, can carry sensors (including four Mk. 1 eyeballs for the big picture), can carry a large load of weaponry, and can stay in the air for hours over a target area, a moving friendly unit or convoy.
I like the EMB-314 Super Tucano and the AT-6B Texan II for commonality with modern training aircraft and for their looks. However, I can see soldiers flying the AT-802U from landing strips carved out of jungle, desert, mountains, and fields.
The A-37 is out of production. The OV-10 is a large, twin-engined, expensive airplane that is also out of production. The A-1 Skyraider is out of production and needlessly complex for this type of operation.
UAVs with this kind of loiter time are expensive and cannot see the big picture or carry this kind of load.
