While I like the OV-10, the helicopter can be configured for a variety of missions, including troop transport, cargo, search-and-rescue, special operations, disaster response and firefighting. It has an empty weight of 2,552kg and cargo hook capacity of 2,268kg, and can carry a useful load of 2,210kg. The internal and external maximum gross weights are 4,763kg and 5,080kg respectively. The cabin has a volume of 6.2m³ and its interior can be configured according to the mission requirements. The Huey II is operated by one or two pilots and can accommodate up to 14 personnel. The helicopter can be provided with three-place litter, high-skid gear, cargo hook, hoisting and armour solutions. The modified helicopter has a never-exceed speed of 206km/h, a maximum cruise speed of 196km/h and a range of 455km. Its service ceiling is 4,940m and its IGE and OGE hover ceilings are 3,839m and 1,626m respectively. The helicopter can stay in air for up to 156 minutes.
The OV-10 is a lightly armed recon/light attack plane. Yes, it has higher speed and longer range than the Bell Huey II, but it is also heavier, needs are landing strip and can carry less. With the second seat removed, it can carry 3,200 pounds (1,500 kg) of cargo, five paratroopers or two litter patients and an attendant. Normal operating fueled weight with two crew is 9,908 pounds (4,494 kg). Maximum takeoff weight is 14,446 pounds (6,553 kg). Operational experience showed that there were some weaknesses in the OV-10's design. For starters, it is significantly underpowered. This contributed to
crashes in Vietnam
in sloping terrain because the pilots could not climb fast enough. While specifications state that the aircraft could reach 26,000 feet (7,900 m), in Vietnam the aircraft could reach only 18,000 feet (5,500 m). Also, no OV-10 pilot survived ditching the aircraft...
Topography of Kenya
Kenya has a distinctive topographic profile. The interior is much higher than the rest of the country, and the mountains are roughly in a line running north and south. Its highest mountain, Mount Kenya, is located in approximately the center of the country. The Great Rift Valley runs from north to south through Kenya, separating the Lake Victoria basin to the west from the hills in the east, which slide into the dry grassy lowlands and coastal beaches.
Kenya is notable for its topographical variety. The low-lying, fertile coastal region, fringed with coral reefs and islands, is backed by a gradually rising coastal plain, a dry region covered with savanna and thornbush. At an altitude of over 1,500 m (5,000 ft) and about 480 km (300 mi) inland, the plain gives way in the southwest to a high plateau, rising in parts to more than 3,050 m (10,000 ft), on which most of the population and the majority of economic activities are concentrated. The northern section of Kenya, forming three-fifths of the whole territory, is arid and of semidesert character, as is the bulk of the southeastern quarter. In the high plateau area, known as the Kenya Highlands, lie Mt. Kenya (5,199 m/17,057 ft), Mt. Elgon (4,310 m/14,140 ft), and the Aberdare Range (rising above 3,962 m/13,000 ft). The plateau is bisected from north to south by the Great Rift Valley, part of the geological fracture that can be traced from Syria through the Red Sea and East Africa to Mozambique. In the north of Kenya the valley is broad and shallow, embracing Lake Rudolf (Lake Turkana), which is about 207 km (155 mi) long; farther south the valley narrows and deepens and is walled by escarpments 600–900 m (2,000–3,000 ft) high. West of the Great Rift Valley, the plateau descends to the plains that border Lake Victoria. The principal rivers are the Tana and the Athi, both flowing southeastward to the Indian Ocean, and the Ewaso Ngiro, which flows in a northeasterly direction to the swamps of the Lorian Plain.
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http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Kenya-TOPOGRAPHY.html#ixzz4RxYWWVm4
Topography Somalia
The northern region is somewhat mountainous, with plateaus reaching between 900 and 2,100 m (3,000–7,000 ft). To the northeast there is an extremely dry dissected plateau that reaches a maximum elevation of nearly 2,450 m (8,000 ft). South and west of this area, extending to the Shabeelle River, lies a plateau whose maximum elevation is 685 m (2,250 ft). The region between the Juba and Shabeelle rivers is low agricultural land, and the area that extends southwest of the Jubba River to Kenya is low pastureland.
Read more:
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Somalia-TOPOGRAPHY.html#ixzz4RxYKWFpg
Description
PINK: Under control of the Government and Allies
GREEN: Under control of neutral forces (Khatumo State)
GREY: Under control of the Al-Shabaab and Allies
OCRE: Under control of Somaliland Government
- In 2009, Somalia asked for help from neighbors Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Yemen.
- On 20 July 2010 border clashes between Kenya and Al-Shabaab insurgents occurred when gunmen from the militia attacked a Kenyan border patrol along the border area in Liboi, Lagdera. There was a subsequent fierce exchange of fire between the two sides leading to the deaths of 2 militia and the wounding of one Kenyan officer. Hundreds of security personnel were later deployed to the border following the clash and because of continued fighting between two militia groups in the neighbouring town of Dobley, Somalia
- On 4 September 2012 the Kenyan Navy shelled Kismayo. This was part of an AU offensive to capture the city from al-Shabab fighters. The harbour was shelled two times and the airport three times. According to a UN report the export of charcoal through Kismayo is a major source of income for al-Shabab.
- On 16 October 2011, the Kenyan Army crossed the border into Somalia in Operation Linda Nchi against Al-Shabaab. It aimed to seize Kismayo and set up a buffer zone against Al-Shabaab. In October 2011, the Kenya Defence Forces began Operation Linda Nchi against Al-Shabaab in southern Somalia. The mission was officially led by the Somali army, with the Kenyan forces providing a support role. A year later, Kismayo was captured.
- In early June 2012, Kenyan forces were formally integrated into AMISOM
- Since 2013, roughly 50 U.S. special operations troops operate at undisclosed locations across southern Somalia advising and assisting, Kenyan, Somali and Ugandan forces in their fight against Al-Shabaab.
- In 2015, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), announced a new military operation against Al Shabaab, for removing it in the last strong holds in Somalia. The operation involved Ethiopian National Defence and Kenya Defence Forces too. At the end of the month of July 2015, AMISOM and Somalia National Army regained many villages and major towns of Baardhere and Dinsoor
- On 15 January 2016, Al Shabaab attacked a Kenyan-run AMISOM base in El Adde Somalia, overrunning the compound and killing over 120 soldiers. Al Shabaab then regained the important town of Marka, 45 km from the capital, and the port of Gard in Puntland region (March 2016).
- On 16 October 2016, the New York times reported that American officials said the White House had quietly broadened the president’s authority for the use of force in Somalia by allowing airstrikes to protect American and African troops as they combat fighters from al-Shabaab. About 200 to 300 American Special Operations troops work with soldiers from Somalia and other African nations like Kenya and Uganda to carry out more than a half-dozen raids per month, according to senior American military officials. The operations are a combination of ground raids and drone strikes.
Kenya Army Aviation:
- Gunship/ Scout/ Spec-Op helicopter McDonald-Douglas MD 500M / TOW : 39 Since 1979
- Attack helicopter Mi-28N: 5 (11 on order 3 delivered by March 2012)
- Light Attack helicopter Harbin Z9WE: 8 (delivered 2010-2011, 4 armed & 4 utility, 1x Z9WE crashed in Linda Nchi.)
- Attack Helicopter Kamov KA-50: 4 (since 2012, evaluation purposes)
Kenya Air Force
- Northrop F-5 fighter: 17 F-5E, 4 F-5F
- Short/EMB-312 Tucano armed trainer: 12 Mk 51 (Provision for 1,000 lb / 454 kg of stores on four underwing hardpoints)
- Mil Mi-17 utility helicopter: 2 (up to 1,500 kg / 3,300 lb of stores on 6 hardpoints, incl. bombs, rockets, and gunpods.)
- SA 330 Puma utility helicopter: 12 (can be armed with 7.62 mm (.30) machine guns and side-firing 20 mm cannon)
- Harbin Z-9 utility helicopter: 6 (probably unarmed, if armed: pylons for rockets, gun pods, HJ-8 anti-tank missiles)
- Bell UH-1 Iroquois utility helicopter: 5 UH-1H were known to be on order
