Air Tractors are Cool as Shit

[Speaker to Animals]

Eric Prince's guys are flying these air tractors in Libya:



It has an older model targeting pod and two paveway laser-guided bombs. It's actually a pretty sweet configuration.

https://warisboring.com/erik-princes-me ... .5kd69kwdj

For dealing with bullshit like ISIS and various terror groups in what is left of the nation states Obama destroyed, something like this is probably a lot more effective than more expensive platforms. I wonder, though, if you could slap some kind of ECM pod on there.




If I win the powerball, one of these are going into my arsenal.

[TheReal_ND]

Huh. Competent. Relatively cheap. Smart.

[Ex-California]

Yeah, this is awesome.

Is there any reason for bleeding-edge state-of-the-art when you're not fighting anyone with even Vietnam-era planes?

[Alexander PhiAlipson]

It's like a Stuka and a Warthog combined. If all the enemy can throw up is 12.7mm and curses, it might just be perfect.

[Speaker to Animals]

I'd worry about manpads, hence why I mentioned an ECM pod.

[de officiis]

Reminds me of the Skyraider. You could hang all sorts of stuff on that bird.

[ssu]

Think about it:

If you were to make a drone out of the old venerable A-26 Invader back from the WW2, it would have the following advantages to US current drones like the MQ-9 Reaper:

- It would be faster
- it would have a longer range
- it could carry more armament.

Tell's something of an aircraft that it was mothballed TWICE, then taken into service because it was so good and nothing could get the job done in similar fashion, and in the end simply had to be replaced as they aircraft were simply used to the end. Pretty good for a WW2 Bomber.

Vietnam:




Korea:


WW2:

[de officiis]

I think you might be overlooking one of the main advantages of drones, which is their ability to hang over a particular piece of ground for 20 - 30 hours and monitor what's happening. Not sure you could do that with two thirsty Pratt & Whitneys.

Not that I don't love the A-26, of course.