The OV-10 Bronco Is Wailing On ISIS Yet Again... - OV-10 Bronco 2.jpg ...

This Time In The Philippines

more at
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone...he-philippines

The core of the southern Filipino city of Marawi was seized by Maute and Abu
Sayyaf militants, which are directly affiliated with the Islamic State, on May
23th. Since then, Philippines armed forces have performed a a rolling
counter-assault on the area in an attempt to dislodge the extremists. The
Philippine Air Force's go-to weapon system for the battle? The OV-10 Bronco.

The mission has proven to be extremely difficult as the fighters clearly had
been planning and preparing the area for the battle for some time before
executing their blitz. Stores of supplies and ammunition are said to be
scattered around the city center, and tunnels are allowing the militants to
disappear and reappear in a nearly magic-like manner. The use of human shields
is also widespread and Filipino Marines and special operations soldiers who are
trying to go door-to-door to retake the city have suffered heavy casualties.

Because of the dense urban area the militants seized and the very limited
stockpiles of precision guided munitions in the PAF's arsenal—not to mention
laser designation devices used to target them—the country's handful (as in eight
airframes) of sparingly upgraded OV-10M Broncos have put their ability to make
close-range and precise dumb bombing runs to work on targets in the city. Videos
of the Broncos pulling off eye-watering attacks over the city have hit the web,
and it's clear that as the situation has become more dire, the rugged old close
air support aircraft have only stepped up their sorties.

This isn't the first time the Bronco has tried to buck ISIS. A pair of highly
upgraded OV-10s were sent to Iraq to hunt Islamic State fighters alongside
special operations forces as an experiment. The results were stunning. The
Broncos and their highly trained Navy pilots were turned into flying "man
hunters," slinging laser-guided rockets through windows and door openings like a
sniper fires their bullets. The aircraft proved to be ridiculously reliable,
easy to deploy near the front lines and vicious when it came to devouring the
enemy under the most challenging combat conditions.

In addition to the OV-10s, pretty much all of the assets available to the
Philippine Air Force are participating in the impromptu air campaign. AW109Es
equipped with gun and rocket pods on their stub wings have been seen making
attack runs and providing overhead surveillance. Even the country's new FA-50PH
light fighters have flown attack missions against Islamic State positions in
Marawi.

The US has also joined the operation, with videos and pictures emerging of P-3C
Orions flying low over the city. The Orions would be using their electro-optical
payloads, which include infrared and color video capabilities, for providing
overwatch, surveillance and for generating new targeting information. Filipino
General Restituto Padilla has stated "We don’t have adequate surveillance
equipment, so we asked the U.S. military for assistance. It’s noncombat
assistance."

more at
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone...he-philippines





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