OV-10 Bronco

摘要

Depending on how you look at it, the North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco was either a successful example of a versatile counter-insurgency (COIN) aircraft, or an example of the procurement system's ability to take a simple idea and add weight. The original concept - which dated from the early '60s and came, in part, from former US Marine, Colonel KP Rice - was formulated with an eye to providing close support to ground forces in the theatres of south-east Asia that were then pre-occupying the US military mind. It involved a lightweight design whose modular construction would allow it to be dismantled and transported to the area of operation by air or road, and with a short enough span that, once in position, would enable it to be operated from roads, rather than depending on airstrips.