UAVs Suck: Manned O-1 Bird Dog AFACs over Vietnam: What RIGHT Looks Like
February 10, 2012
One of the serious failings of today’s counter-insurgency efforts is the lack of MANNED observation/attack aircraft with human eyes to sense the subtle nuances and “tells” of elusive enemies hiding in closed terrains to perpetuate sub-national conflict (SNC) like we did during the Vietnam war when we had over 400+ O-1 Bird Dogs, O-2 SkyMasters, OV-1 Mohawks, OV-10 Broncos available AT ONE TIME to be in the air to effect 24/7/365 persistent air surveillance. Ground Forward Air Controllers (GFACs) cannot see what airborne observers can—and vice a versa—we need BOTH. However, none of this can be done with piped in video imagery displayed on TV screens back at the FOB (forward operating base). We cannot put up into the air more than a handful of large UAVs at a time lest they crash into eachother or have their control signals cross and crash. So much for all the money we are saving when really we are going broke making corrupt UAV companies rich as the enemy is free to lay land mines to blow out men up at will. www.combatreform.org This amazing video documents the USAFs SparrowHawks Airborne Forward Air Controllers (AFACs) in Cessna STOL Grasshopper O-1 Bird Dogs (formerly known as L-19s in US Army parlance until the 1962 DoD designation order) in action locating the elusive VC/NVA and then marking them with WP 2.75 smoke rockets so fighter-bombers and attack planes like A-1 SkyRaiders and A-37 Dragonflies could swoop down on them and destroy them with heavy high explosive …
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21 Responses to “UAVs Suck: Manned O-1 Bird Dog AFACs over Vietnam: What RIGHT Looks Like”
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I sure would like to know how I can get a copy of this film. My brother in law was killed in one of these in? Vietnam. He received the Medal of Honor. Would like to use this film to educate kids during events to remember Hilliard A Wilbanks.
See my website about the 23 TASS? on strongware
See my website about the? 23 TASS
Why fly UAV. Funny? in the war is the adventure!!!
My Step-Dad did three tours flying these and O-2s in Vietnam. When he puts on his dress uniform, it’s quite impressive. 2 silver stars, 3 bronze stars, and 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses. He never talked about it, but as? one poster stated earlier, these guys, and my step-dad must have had balls of steel. Thanks for posting.
We should? deploy the CAP to Iraq/Afghanistan; they’ll do a far better job than BS UAVs that cannot see squat and have their imagery “hacked” by Hadji.
Talk to some UAV retards on that bandwagon of failure running around these days…we? could put up over 300+ MANNED O/A aircraft over Vietnam, today we can’t get a dozen Predators up at a time when they are not crashing…
man i was? born in the wrong era
Gotta have some brass ones to do this. Worth finding Marshall Harrison’s “Lonely Kind of War” (can get used from Amazon) if you’re interested in the OV-10 life as a FAC. Good read. The? “Vietnamese” voice in this video sounds suspiciously Hispanic — gotta love uncle sugar’s propaganda machine.
Good to hear that lessone were learned quickly – pity some of these have? to be re learned..
I know one of the OV-10 observers and was aware of this HQMC BS back in ’93 during the back-stab. The jet jocks (too fast) and? rotorheads (too slow) egos n rice bowls were threatened by OV-10s.
cool video!? the philippines is still using ov-10s for ground attacks and air surveillance in mindanao..
I’ve always thought the USMCs’ old OV-10D NOG would be? perfect for Afghanistan,working with the Harriers and Cobras.
OV-10s with AN/APQ-144 “disco lights” and exhaust baffles, proved? survivable in Desert Storm. Two older A models which had not been retrofitted with the countermeasures kits were shot down however, and their loss was used as justification for the type’s retirement without replacement. A number of older AH-64s that had not been upgraded with similar kits were the only other aircraft lost to manpads. The Air Force had left its FAC planes stateside because they were affraid of the manpad threat.
countermeasures for manpads, implemented during desert storm.
1. AN/ALQ-144 “disco light” a kind of Infrared strobe confused IR guided missiles into turning away from the OV-10.
2. Baffles over the turbine exhausts to? diffuse the hot exhaust gasses.
The two OV-10s shot down in Desert Storm were older models that had not yet been fitted with said equipment. The losses were still used to justify their retirement without suitable replacement. Similar losses experienced by older AH-64 Apaches.
Yes i think C.A.P. still has a few around but now mostly there are Cessna 172s’, 152s’, and 182s’ as well as A.R.C.H.E.R. equipped? Gippsland GA-8s’ and a few other types along with gliders.
Yes I think C.A.P. still has a few around but now mostly there are? Cessna 172s’, 152s’, and 182s’ as well as A.R.C.H.E.R. equipped Gippsland GA-8s’ and a few other types along with gliders.
civil air patrol still have some of theses? i think
Deja vu all over again. FACs working the Trail were working against small arms fire from anyone who had a gun, plus complexes of six 23 mm 4-barrel cannons. Over 200 FACs were killed in Southeast Asia during the conflict. I was lucky to only have three hits, since all of us learned very early on to always jink? and never fly in steady lines or curves.
Yes, they do now with counter-measures. IMHO we need to make O/A? stealthy so they are not targetted at all. UAVs mostly crash themselves–not from SAMs.
Will the aircraft survive in a battlefield with? manpads?