OV-10A Bronco
Date Updated:
Thursday March 23, 2006
Technical Details | Service History |Current Status | Photos |Fleet
Information | Write-Offs
Twin turbine engined aircraft
(two 715 shp Garrett turboprops), primarily designed for COIN, light strike and
observation missions. Can carry up to 3,600 lbs of stores on seven weapons
stations. Maximum endurance is 5.5 hours with a combat radius of 300
nautical miles. Carries a pilot and an observer in tandem on two zero-zero
ejection seats (LW-3B). The rear seat is removable though in practice this
is rarely done. Reflecting its ground support and surveillance role, it
carries a high level of communication and navigation equipment including GPS,
VOR, TACAN IFF, ADF and VHF-AM, VHF-FM, UHF, HF radios. GPS was added in
the Philippines. The GPS units on PAF Broncos are installed on the cockpit coaming
together with a power receptacle to connect it to an on-board power source.
Cockpit lighting is also NVG compatible.
All were received from the US
without armament and have been modified in Philippine service. PAF OV-10s
are normally armed with 4 7.62mm mgs with 500 rounds per gun) though a twin .50
cal installation has been tried on a few units. Like the MG520s,
the OV-10s also carries 2.75 inch rocket pods (either two or four pods) under the
fuselage sponsoons or 5 inch Zuni rocket pods
or a combination of both. In addition, they have also been known to carry
the same .50 cal gun pods used by the MG-520. The .50 cal armament is
appreciated because of its longer range and the heavier throw weight of the .50
cal rounds which enables it to penetrate thicker vegetation. Aside from
the guns, PAF OV-10s have been know to carry 110lb, 260lb, 500lb and 750 lb bombs as well
as 81mm clusters (locally manufactured cluster bombs) and
locally developed 20mm gun pods.
Load out depends on weapons availability and mission requirements.
A Service Life Extension
Program has been started with all remaining serviceable OV-10s slated to go
through the program. With the assistance of
Marsh Aviation, the PAF is currently overhauling and modernizing the
airframe and its systems as well as replacing the increasingly difficult to
maintain and service three bladed propeller with brand new units from Marsh
Aviation and Hartzell.
The program includes the replacement of the difficult to maintain three bladed
propeller, fitting of new gearboxes to improve maintainability, zero timing the
airframes and overhauling of the aircrafts subsystems to extend the service
life of the airframe, improve serviceability and make the fleet easier to
maintain. In place of the old three bladed propeller, a new
100 inch diameter propeller designed and manufactured by
Hartzell has been
fitted. In addition, the fleet is due to receive enough locally build 20mm
gun pods to equip all aircraft.
27 delivered from USAF stocks
from 1991 to 92. The type was ordered to replace AT-28Ds that had
previously been used by the 15th Strike Wing based at Sangley Point (now called
Atienza Air Base). The type is heavily used in the light strike role in
support of Philippine troops engaged in operations against various rebel groups
operating in the North and South of the country. In addition, they also
have a limited maritime surveillance tasking over the Spratly islands, flying
out of Bautista Air Base in Palawan. On at least one recorded occasion,
they have been fired upon by Vietnamese troops while engaged in this activity.
In addition, they have also encountered Malaysian Hawks engaged in similar tasks
over the territory.
At least two aircraft are know to have been hit and destroyed on the ground during an attack by NPA
rebels against Cauayan Air Base in Isabela Province (Northern Luzon) in 1992 (see "Write-Offs"). One crashed (S/N
68-3792) outside of Clark Air Base
killing one of the few combat qualified female pilots of the PAF in 2001 (see
"Write-Offs" for this and details of other
casualties).
In an effort to provide 24×7
air support and maximize the use of it’s existing aircraft, PAF OV-10 pilots
have been receiving training from USMC aviators in night flying procedures and
operations. Training started with Balikatan 2000 and is acknowledged to be
on-going.
In 2001, the PAF CG declared
that keeping the whole fleet fully operational was a priority for the PAF as
well as acquiring more A and getting D model Broncos. 21 remain out of 27 delivered
with a further eight received from Thailand. Readiness is improving with
an infusion of cash provided by AFP modernization funds. However, the
fleet is currently in the process of going through the SLEP program. Six
have completed the upgrades with the rest of the active fleet due to finish the
upgrade by the end of the year (2006). Despite this, there are still a
lack of strike assets and the SF260TPs continue to
shoulder part of the close air support mission.
8 Thai OV-10Cs were transferred to the Philippines
this year (2005), down from the 15 originally slated for transfer. The OV-10s
were donated to the PAF by the Thais together with the existing stock of spares
for the Thai OV-10s. These OV-10s are also slated to go through the OV-10
modernization program.
PAF Serial Number |
USAF Serial Number |
|
|
|
15 ex |
||||
63555 |
66-13555 |
305-4 |
01.97, |
USAF |
559 |
66-13559 |
305-8 |
91, 97 |
|
74605 |
67-14605 |
305-13 |
92 |
|
610 |
67-14610 |
305-18 |
01.97, |
|
74611 |
67-14611 |
305-19 |
w/o |
|
14613 |
67-14613 |
305-21 |
w/o |
|
629 |
67-14629 |
305-37 |
03.97 |
USAF |
630 |
67-14630 |
305-38 |
02.99 |
USAF |
74639 |
67-14639 |
305-47 |
01.97, |
|
74641 |
67-14639 |
305-49 |
01.97, |
USAF |
74666 |
67-14666 |
305-74 |
92 |
USAF |
74667 |
67-14667 |
305-75 |
|
|
792 |
68-3792 |
321-118 |
w/o |
USAF |
801 |
68-3801 |
321-127 |
05.98, |
USAF |
83830 |
68-3830 |
321-156 |
01.97, |
USAF |
9 ex |
||||
601 |
|
|
01.99, |
USAF 67-14601 = A-7D Corsair II |
603 |
|
|
01.99, |
USAF 67-14603 = U-17C |
636 |
67-14636 |
305-44 |
05.98 |
|
647 |
67-14647 |
305-55 |
01.97 |
USAF |
669 |
67-14669 |
305-77 |
01.97 |
|
677 |
67-14677 |
305-85 |
06.96 |
|
679 |
67-14679 |
305-87 |
03.00, |
USAF |
681 |
67-14681 |
305-89 |
w/o |
USAF |
|
|
|
01.97, |
USAF 67-14727 = C-130E Hercules |
3 ex
|
||||
|
67-14684 |
305-92 |
|
|
|
67-14694 |
305-102 |
|
|
|
68-3826 |
321-152 |
|
USAF |
date |
s/n |
fate |
|
|
|
Two |
|
31.05.93 |
67-14613 |
Pilot |
Crashed |
18.08.95 |
67-14611 |
Pilot |
Crashed
|
31.03.97 01.04.97? |
? |
Both crew |
Suffered |
26.01.98 |
67-14681 |
Pilot |
|
68-3792 |
Pilot 1st |
Crashed |
|
83830 |
68-3830? |
Pilot Aniano |
Crashed in Aircraft was |
Thai OV-10s
Transferred to the PAF.
A total of 8 OV-10Cs were transferred to the PAF
in two batches. Transfers were done by ship from Thailand to Sangley Point
together with aircraft spares where overhauls were conducted. They were
later flown to Villamor where the formal transfers took
place.
Thai Serial |
US Serials |
|
|
|
159134 |
Transferred to PAF Sept 8 at Villamor AB |
Transferred September 8. Were called J-5s in Thai use and served with RTAF 411 squadron. The first two numbers are the Thai Serials while the third set is the |
19/16/41119 |
159136 |
Transferred to PAF Sept 8 at Villamor AB | |
22/16/41122 |
159139 |
Transferred to PAF Sept 8 at Villamor AB | |
25/16/41125 |
159142 |
Transferred to PAF Sept 8 at Villamor AB | |
Transferred to the PAF May 2004 |
A further four OV-10Cs were transferred to the PAF in May 2004 bringing the total up to 8. |
||