Daryl Hunt
Your Worst Nightmare
- Banned
- #1
The OV-10 Bronco Is Wailing On ISIS Yet Again, This Time In The 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.
It is thought that at least 138 militants and 58 Filipino troops have died in the fighting so far. That is in addition to at least 21 civilians deaths—likely the actual number is far higher. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced as a result of the siege and the region has been placed under martial law over fears that the insurrection could morph and expand to a point that containing it could prove impossible
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.
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.
Although the PAF OV-10s don't have anywhere near the sensor or communications suites of those sent to Iraq, they still can deliver precise fire and even drop GBU-12 laser-guided bombs if they are available and a third party is designating the target with a laser.
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 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.
It is thought that at least 138 militants and 58 Filipino troops have died in the fighting so far. That is in addition to at least 21 civilians deaths—likely the actual number is far higher. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced as a result of the siege and the region has been placed under martial law over fears that the insurrection could morph and expand to a point that containing it could prove impossible
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.
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.
Although the PAF OV-10s don't have anywhere near the sensor or communications suites of those sent to Iraq, they still can deliver precise fire and even drop GBU-12 laser-guided bombs if they are available and a third party is designating the target with a laser.
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.
