Interesting Turboprop Counter Insurgency Aircraft.

[BloodBane611]

Looks interesting. A cheap little CAS aircraft, probably with good loiter time, and low unit cost (6-11 million per unit) compared to the A-10 (13 million with a production run of approx. 300).
Unfortunately earliest projected availability is next year, with estimated availability to new customers in about 3-4 years, so you can't actually get one yet. But I'm sure they would take your downpayment for one just the same.

[[R-COM]Darkpowder]

There is of course the principle of "the return of vintage aviation" which is seen with slow moving aircraft like the A-10 and other long loiter platforms like Helicopter Gunships.
From the days of pilots being told that there was a "10% chance of survival against AAA or SAMS over the battlefield" the low tech wars we see at the moment are pushing toward a low-speed, long loiter platform. I'm sure the more knowlegable among us know why fixed wing is preferable to a gunship on occassions and vice versa.

Looking at the preview pics of fools road (hint there perhaps? don't use the roads? ) we can see old WW2 style field arty pieces (which i love using in WW2 games).

Perhaps in places like afghanistan old tech equipment will become more and more effective when supported by airborne platforms like these. Clearly insurgent forces have used recoilless rifles (so the inner-net tells us), but that they are ineffective in the face of persistant and already on-station air-power.

[Viper5]

Originally Posted by [R-MOD]A.J.Sawyer

The A4 Skyhawk is a jet...

Yeah my bad, was thinking A1 Skyraider

So its basically an A1 with Modern Weapons?

As cool as it looks, I dont see a purpose. What could this accomplish that a AC130, Attack Helo, or Fixed Wing fighters cant? Also seems like it would be a very perrty target for some sort of AA gun lodged in the mountains as found in Operation Anaconda.

[Harrod200]

Originally Posted by Viper5

Yeah my bad, was thinking A1 Skyraider

So its basically an A1 with Modern Weapons?

As cool as it looks, I dont see a purpose. What could this accomplish that a AC130, Attack Helo, or Fixed Wing fighters cant? Also seems like it would be a very perrty target for some sort of AA gun lodged in the mountains as found in Operation Anaconda.

Well this seems to me to be a budget craft aimed at the smaller countries rather than 1st world militaries, who probably couldn't afford to purchase, arm and operate such craft. A cheap, slow aircraft with enough firepower to put a big hole in the ground would be far more cost effective.

Though billing it as a CI craft then arming it with a GAU and large numbers of hardpoints seems a bit odd. I dunno about you lot but i'm not sure many insurgents have armoured vehicles and tanks...

[Nickbond592]

its cheaper than a fully maned AC130 for a start by a hell of a lot i'd imagine to

but if money isn't a problem i'd much prefer to have a AC130 over me head,

[[R-MOD]Bob_Marley]

Originally Posted by markonymous

indeed, looks pointless too. why not use an a-10 instead.

For a start, its a dedicated CAS aircraft, unlike the A-10 which was desinged to swoop low over the fields of northern Europe hunting soviet tanks, not stay on station over the skies of Afghanistan waiting to hit a marked target.

Even dedicated flying artillery aircraft like the SU-25 series are less than ideal for this role.

COIN aircraft such as this are designed to be cheap to run, have long linger times and operate from minimally equipped foreward bases. Conventional fixed wing multirole fighters and even specialised ground attack aircraft like the A-10 and SU-25 can't do this.

[Viper5]

They may not be designed to, but with the air-refueling infrastructure that insurgents can touch they certainly can and can do so with much less exposure (Slow target is meat for a Triple A emplacement

[BloodBane611]

How many insurgents are using AAA? When was the last time we lost an jet to enemy fire? This aircraft is designed for long loiter in order to better support infantry against enemy infantry and armor, and so serves as a tweaked CAS type aircraft. In vietnam the A-1 was very useful because of its long loiter time, and this is in that vein.