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#12
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New Iraqi Airborne Strike Capability Spotted
On Oct 20, 1:27*pm, Jack Linthicum
wrote: On Oct 20, 4:19*pm, BlackBeard wrote: On Oct 20, 1:01*pm, "David E. Powell" wrote: On Oct 20, 1:55*pm, frank wrote: On Oct 19, 8:51*pm, "David E. Powell" wrote: On Oct 19, 8:39*pm, wrote: On Oct 19, 1:11*pm, "David E. Powell" wrote: On Oct 14, 11:27*pm, wrote: See: http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/gener...s/IRAQ101408.x... I wonder what else it can carry besides Hellfire. Nice, finally! No hub-center cannon though All kidding aside, I wonder if a cannon could be mounted down the road? A belly turret like the one on the OV-10D would be nice, then you could do normal strafing or just swivel it to the side and orbit the target like a mini- AC-130. That is a capital idea. Then one could orbit and do surveillance and be able to shoot to the side over a certain area. An Apache turret might work.... that would be pretty cool. I wonder what all that passenger space in the back is used for when it's flying a COIN mission? Hmm... multirole stuff for troops or surveillance gear? If they haev two people on board, one can guide something like a TOW or HOT missile while the other one flies. Pretty nice. Some Marine special ops (Recon ) guys told us they could put a platoon in there and parachute out the back. How the heck they did that, we never figured out. Sounds like a Clown Car but a pretty low cost way to do a platoon jump if they could pull it off. Might be OK for low level runs getting in past coverage, wonder how small a radar target it is when it gets up in some altitude? Like that German guy who landed in Red Square in the 80s. I keep getting an error trying to load the page. *Can anyone describe what you are talking about? BB I had the same problem, went to AW direct. The literature says it can carry 12 passengers New Iraqi Airborne Strike Capability Spotted Oct 14, 2008 David A. Fulghum Part of the Iraq’s military future airborne strike capability appears to be flying out of a civilian airport in Fort Worth, Texas. Two Cessna Grand Caravan 208Bs, (http://www.cessna.com/caravan/grand- caravan.html) armed with a pair of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles each, have been photographed flying out of Meacham Airport earlier this month. The field officially has no military presence, but it is the home of a major ATK Integrated Systems major modification facility and the armed Cessna Caravan is one of its projects. The capability was referred to - without specificity - when U.S. Air Force Col. Michael Wobbema, former chief of staff for the Coalition Air Force Transition Team said late last year that “there will be an armed variant...that will come on line.” In fact, the order of battle for the Iraqi Air Force now includes three Caravans for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, three armed Caravans, two Hawker/ Beechcraft King Air light transports and six King Airs 350s also for ISR. Further operating out of ATK’s shops are C-130s, a deHavilland Dash-8 and a Swearingen Metro IV all heavily modified for clandestine ISR operations, according to sources with knowledge of the field’s operations. If fact, U.S. officials admit that they are helping the Iraqis build a counterinsurgency force with strike capabilities. In December the Iraqi Air Force will receive the first three armed Caravans - with laser designators for the missiles - followed by two more in early 2009, says USAF Brig. Gen. Brooks Bash, current chief of the Coalition Air Force Transition team. In addition, ATK modified the U.S. Air National Guard’s 11 RC-26B aircraft (including those for Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California) to provide night-mission support for search and rescue and law enforcement support. They carry electro-optical and infrared (EO/ IR) sensors, situational-awareness displays for the air crew, high- resolution digital imagery and video and communications data transfer links. That may have generated the local rumor that the Caravans are part of the Homeland Security Department operation detailed to protecting President Bush when he visits his Crawford, Texas, ranch. But tank-killing Hellfires wouldn’t be the weapon of choice for law enforcement. And Iraq’s air force already is flying a number of unarmed Caravans for ISR, V.I.P. transport and pilot training, and it is expecting armed Caravans by year’s end. In July, the Multi-National Security Transition Command Iraq signed over eight Cessna 172s as primary trainers and three Caravan 208s as advanced trainers to the Iraqi Defense Ministry for the air force’s training program at Kirkuk Air Base. The plan is to train 130 new pilots annually. The service’s projected size is 6,000 airmen and 133 aircraft by late 2009. The olive-drab Caravans have with no national markings, but they do carry an off-colored rectangle near the top of the vertical stabilizer where Iraq puts national flag markings on its military aircraft. The aircraft are fitted with an EO/IR surveillance sensor ball offset to the left side of the aircraft. The engine exhaust is offset to the right to avoid interference with the IR sensor. The sensor ball, targeting pods and missiles will be the same as those on the Predator unmanned aircraft. A pod on the leading edge of the right wing of the Caravan holds a weather radar. The aircraft also has missile warning sensors on the tail and nose and what appears to be chaff and flare dispensers for self-protection. Meanwhile, Iraqis are acquiring eight Hawker/Beechcraft King Air 350s (similar to the C-12) for longer-endurance, advanced ISR operations and carrying full-motion video and forward-looking IR in a sensor ball. The United States has used C-12R Horned Owl aircraft with central APY-8 Lynx radars and EO sensors have been used for roadside-bomb detection and other missions associated with the U.S. Army’s Task Force Odin to attack and capture insurgent leadership. http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/gener...p?channel=defe.... Thanks Jack and Dumpst. That link worked. I don't believe it can carry 12 passengers with all that equipment onboard. I worked on several projects where we loaded EO/IR sensors, trackers, and targeting equipment onboard similar platforms we were using as test beds. Not much room left after all that gets shoehorned in. re. OV-10. I have a friend that was a USN test jumper who jumped several times from the Bronco. He claims they'd sit on the deck, nuts- to-butts facing aft. The Bronco would go into a steep climb and they'd all slide out the back. Crazy... BB I guess everybody has some mountain to climb in their life. It's just fate whether you live in Kansas or Tibet. |
#13
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New Iraqi Airborne Strike Capability Spotted
On Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:42:34 -0700 (PDT), BlackBeard
wrote: Thanks Jack and Dumpst. That link worked. I don't believe it can carry 12 passengers with all that equipment onboard. I worked on several projects where we loaded EO/IR sensors, trackers, and targeting equipment onboard similar platforms we were using as test beds. Not much room left after all that gets shoehorned in. re. OV-10. I have a friend that was a USN test jumper who jumped several times from the Bronco. He claims they'd sit on the deck, nuts- to-butts facing aft. The Bronco would go into a steep climb and they'd all slide out the back. Crazy... If the maximum payload load is 3500 lb as Cessna says, 12 kitted soldiers are not going to fit. Peter Skelton |
#14
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New Iraqi Airborne Strike Capability Spotted
On Oct 20, 4:50*pm, Peter Skelton wrote:
On Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:42:34 -0700 (PDT), BlackBeard wrote: Thanks Jack and Dumpst. *That link worked. *I don't believe it can carry 12 passengers with all that equipment onboard. *I worked on several projects where we loaded EO/IR sensors, trackers, and targeting equipment onboard similar platforms we were using as test beds. *Not much room left after all that gets shoehorned in. re. OV-10. *I have a friend that was a USN test jumper who jumped several times from the Bronco. *He claims they'd sit on the deck, nuts- to-butts facing aft. *The Bronco would go into a steep climb and they'd all slide out the back. *Crazy... If the maximum payload load is 3500 lb as Cessna says, 12 kitted soldiers are not going to fit. Peter Skelton specs for the Grand Caravan Super Cargomaster, listed at 14 passengers plus two crew. Something like 3700-3800 pounds of cargo/people Weights: Empty Weight 1,746kg Maximum Take-Off Weight 3,629kg Maximum Load 1,900kg Fuel Capacity 1,267l Ramp Weight (Grand Caravan, Super Cargomaster) 3,985kg http://www.aerospace-technology.com/...van/specs.html http://www.aerospace-technology.com/...van/specs.html |
#15
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New Iraqi Airborne Strike Capability Spotted
In message , tankfixer
writes Have you seen the video of a couple of SAS fellows who clung to the stub wing of a AH64 to perform a rescue ? Royal Marines from 45 Commando, not SAS. Two Apaches flew four booties back into Jugroom Fort in Helmand Province, Afghanistan to retrieve a badly wounded bootneck after an attack was repulsed: unfortunately, despite the expenditure of many munitions and more courage, Marine Matty Ford died of his injuries. -- The nation that makes a great distinction between its scholars and its warriors, will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting done by fools. -Thucydides pauldotjdotadam[at]googlemail{dot}.com |
#16
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New Iraqi Airborne Strike Capability Spotted
On Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:19:14 -0700 (PDT), BlackBeard
wrote: Like that German guy who landed in Red Square in the 80s. Mathias Rust, in what is probably the most produced airplane ever, the Cessna 172. Took the private pilot check ride in one, back in 65. Casady |
#17
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New Iraqi Airborne Strike Capability Spotted
On Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:50:29 -0400, Peter Skelton
wrote: On Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:42:34 -0700 (PDT), BlackBeard wrote: Thanks Jack and Dumpst. That link worked. I don't believe it can carry 12 passengers with all that equipment onboard. I worked on several projects where we loaded EO/IR sensors, trackers, and targeting equipment onboard similar platforms we were using as test beds. Not much room left after all that gets shoehorned in. re. OV-10. I have a friend that was a USN test jumper who jumped several times from the Bronco. He claims they'd sit on the deck, nuts- to-butts facing aft. The Bronco would go into a steep climb and they'd all slide out the back. Crazy... If the maximum payload load is 3500 lb as Cessna says, 12 kitted soldiers are not going to fit. 3500/12 = 291.7 lbs each. I weigh 130. You ask me to carry 161 lb and I will report you to your superiors as dangerously nuts. The very thought makes me glad I joined the Air Force. If you weigh 161 you won't pack the 130 either. How many do the skydivers shoehorn in?Note that in 90 years, no army ever found soldiers suitable to carry a 75 lb M2HB machine gun, although there in a tripod mount. They always travel by truck or helo. Casady |
#18
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New Iraqi Airborne Strike Capability Spotted
"tankfixer" wrote in message ... Some Marine special ops (Recon ) guys told us they could put a platoon in there and parachute out the back. How the heck they did that, we never figured out. In the back of an OV-10 ? Actually, Tinkerbell, there was a version that had the space to do exactly that. Not a platoon but a few troops. It was a leftover from the A1E specs. Very unlikely. Actually, it was never done operationally that I know of but the capability was always there. Maybe a three man team.. |
#19
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New Iraqi Airborne Strike Capability Spotted
On Oct 20, 3:15*pm, tankfixer wrote:
In article 26adbd0c-f7ef-4048-b9a6- , says... On Oct 19, 8:51*pm, "David E. Powell" wrote: On Oct 19, 8:39*pm, wrote: On Oct 19, 1:11*pm, "David E. Powell" wrote: On Oct 14, 11:27*pm, wrote: See: http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/gener...s/IRAQ101408.x... I wonder what else it can carry besides Hellfire. Nice, finally! No hub-center cannon though All kidding aside, I wonder if a cannon could be mounted down the road? A belly turret like the one on the OV-10D would be nice, then you could do normal strafing or just swivel it to the side and orbit the target like a mini- AC-130. That is a capital idea. Then one could orbit and do surveillance and be able to shoot to the side over a certain area. An Apache turret might work.... that would be pretty cool. I wonder what all that passenger space in the back is used for when it's flying a COIN mission? Hmm... multirole stuff for troops or surveillance gear? If they haev two people on board, one can guide something like a TOW or HOT missile while the other one flies. Pretty nice. Some Marine special ops (Recon ) guys told us they could put a platoon in there and parachute out the back. How the heck they did that, we never figured out. In the back of an OV-10 ? Very unlikely. Maybe a three man team.. -- Meddle ye not in the Affairs of Dragons, for Thou art Crunchy and taste Goode with Ketchup. Hey, we were not going to argue with a Marine Major who had no neck, was about 5 foot something, and sounded like he had a throat full of gravel. And was loud. He was the same guy when we had the check point that Marines had to like the MC-130H Combat Talon II, we were trying to work out how to deploy them for a pretty much low speed non stop run over the target where the wheels barely touch down. He said, let me know when its 30 knots, then you can take off. We'll be out. We figured Marine Recon were a rare breed, maybe a little nuts, but a rare breed. Always did like the Special Ops community. Some more than others, but the quiet types were the ones you knew were damn good. Then again anybody who trusts the AF to test fly an airplane in the dark..... |
#20
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New Iraqi Airborne Strike Capability Spotted
On Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:59:09 -0700 (PDT), Jack Linthicum
wrote: On Oct 20, 4:50*pm, Peter Skelton wrote: On Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:42:34 -0700 (PDT), BlackBeard wrote: Thanks Jack and Dumpst. *That link worked. *I don't believe it can carry 12 passengers with all that equipment onboard. *I worked on several projects where we loaded EO/IR sensors, trackers, and targeting equipment onboard similar platforms we were using as test beds. *Not much room left after all that gets shoehorned in. re. OV-10. *I have a friend that was a USN test jumper who jumped several times from the Bronco. *He claims they'd sit on the deck, nuts- to-butts facing aft. *The Bronco would go into a steep climb and they'd all slide out the back. *Crazy... If the maximum payload load is 3500 lb as Cessna says, 12 kitted soldiers are not going to fit. Peter Skelton specs for the Grand Caravan Super Cargomaster, listed at 14 passengers plus two crew. Something like 3700-3800 pounds of cargo/people Weights: Empty Weight 1,746kg Maximum Take-Off Weight 3,629kg Maximum Load 1,900kg Fuel Capacity 1,267l Ramp Weight (Grand Caravan, Super Cargomaster) 3,985kg http://www.aerospace-technology.com/...van/specs.html http://www.aerospace-technology.com/...van/specs.html Interesting. The Cessna website gives the maximum useful load number I gave above. The Brochure downloadable from the site gives 1862 kg. It also shows that, for a range of 100 nm, the maximum payload, exclusive of 170 lb pilot and 45 min fuel reserve is 1588 kg. to get 300 nm it's down to 1361 kg. http://www.cessna.com/MungoBlobs/746...n_Brochure.pdf 12 kitted soldiers is too much weight. Peter Skelton |
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