Author of this article knows next to nothing of the purpose/use of this aircraft. It is NOT an "attack" aircraft, but serves well as a forward air control platform.

It certainly was used as a FAC but http://www.blackpony.org/history.htm

I knew and trained with a bunch of Black Pony pilots. They, in the attack mode, may have been responsible for as many dead Viet Cong as any USN squadron in Viet Nam.

As a Marine A-4 pilot, my experience with OV-10's in "I" Corps was their use as FAC for fast movers and close air support.

In both modes, the pilots earned their pay.

Boeing was working on an updated glass cockpit for the OV-10X. Would love to see that along with an updated A-1 Skyraider. Ground rats wouldn't have a place to hide.

You could buy about 187 of them for one F-35. The difference would be the OV-10s and A-1s would actually be lethal to the enemy and not the driver...

quote:

Originally posted by Opus1:
Boeing was working on an updated glass cockpit for the OV-10X. Would love to see that along with an updated A-1 Skyraider. Ground rats wouldn't have a place to hide.

You could buy about 187 of them for one F-35. The difference would be the OV-10s and A-1s would actually be lethal to the enemy and not the driver...

Snort...

[QUOTE]Originally posted by JudgeG:
I knew and trained with a bunch of Black Pony pilots. They, in the attack mode, may have been responsible for as many dead Viet Cong as any USN squadron in Viet Nam.

As a Marine A-4 pilot, my experience with OV-10's in "I" Corps was their use as FAC for fast movers and close air support.

In both modes, the pilots earned their pay.[/QUOTE

Now maybe in the Middle East. Those grunts on the ground don't have to back up to the paymaster either.

Great thread gentlemen. I was unaware of this aircraft.

Two of the guys in my class in flight training went to the Black Ponies. One of them was killed in action, the other came to A-7s after VAL-4 was decommissioned. My reservations about using the OV-10s in Iraq and Syria is that the aircraft is fairly easy to shoot down. I've seen several FACs shot down in Laos and SVN by relatively light weapons fire. Due to the areas they operated in it was uncommon to get the pilots back as the NVN army just killed them rather than try to transport them all the way to Hanoi. In addition, we lost several of them due to being shot on the way down in the chute.
My guess is the A-10s do as good or better than a fleet of OV-10s would be able to do against ISIS and Al Quaeda with less chance of losing pilots; we know they're not coming home if ISIS captures them!