Posted on 02/22/2018 7:49:35 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
The South African built AHRLAC aircraft has been unveiled as a bidding competitor in the race for the United States Air Force’s Bronco II light attack aircraft contract.
The aircraft, which was designed and built in South Africa has seen promising development since it’s first flight in 2014, and this latest announcement confirms that the Paramount Group is making good strides towards being a serious competitor on the international stage.
The Bronco II (via Bronco Combat Systems)
Paramount has formed a United States based subsidiary called Bronco Combat Systems in partnership with Aerospace Development Corp and Fulcrum Concepts, and intends to create a US based manufacturing base for the Bronco II, and discussions are already underway with undisclosed US suppliers, which is thought to include Boeing. The aerospace giant has already signed a broad agreement with Paramount in 2014, and later signed a deal to supply combat systems for the aircraft in it’s bid for the Bronco II contract.
Paramount chairman Ivor Ichikowitz said: “This is not simply an armed variant of a civilian crop-duster or a modified training aircraft. Every inch of this aircraft is designed for purpose – specifically for the kind of asymmetrical warfare that sophisticated military forces are now being asked to conduct.”
The AHRLAC will be competing against the Embraer A-29 Super Tucano, as well as 2 other competing platforms from Textron Aviation, namely the AT-6 Texan II and recently developed Scorpion twin-jet.
It is as yet unclear what the AHRLAC’s chances are in the bid for the contract, although it is known that the USAF has already hosted flight demonstrations of the Super Tucano, AT-6 and Scorpion, and has already announced a second upcoming demonstration, but only invited the Super Tucano and AT-6.
The AHRLAC platform has recently been pushed as the Mwari light attack platform in South Africa, which is perhaps aimed more in the direction of African based customers to fulfill a multi-mission role as a Light Attack and reconnaissance platform.
Paramount says it has already secured 2 launch customers for the AHRLAC, and that the first production built aircraft is expected to roll off the assembly line at Wonderboom Airport in the second quarter of 2018.
Bronco II in US Marines livery (via Bronco Combat Systems)
I like how the seating of the two pilots are at offsetting elevations.
Looks like a home built “experimental”
Pusher-planes were discarded early in the First World War after the pilots kept getting crushed by the engines.
That's pretty much how the original OV-10 Bronco started out. Well, not so much home built, more like garage built.
The military version was designated the O-2 and they were filled with a fuel bladder and flown from Hawaii to the Clark Air Base for transfer to Vietnam. There were several different versions for a very good aircraft
Instead of spending millions just sell them the OV10. Stop this madness of wasting money like an insane asylum. The USAF never learns everything does not have to have 24 bells 55 whistles and 12 gongs...Take the aircraft out of AMARC and tell them this is whats available this spending must stop.....no reason under the sun justifies this additional tragedy
....
We called those the 337 Mixmaster
I owned one once
Red and black and white
Unfortunately the USAF has only identified 13 airframes that would be available.
I love the “Mixmaster” and always wanted to own one. Too bad they stopped production so many years ago.
Shoulder fired missiles are sometimes called “Bronco Dilators”/snicker
Yes, I’ve heard Thamsanqa Jantjie need the work real bad since his interpreting job sort of went South...
The Cessna 337, military 02, is a great plane.
Flies fine if one engine goes out...but speed drops quite a bit if you put the gear down with just one engine.
It’s effing hot in the summertime though.
Sometimes the gear won’t come down and you have to go back and kick the floor to release them, the problem is ice...lol
Some owners just take the landing gear doors off.
You can get 2000hrs on the engines and they still run great.
You can do 200mph, not bad for a twin really.,,but if you want a rocket get an Aerostar 700 and cruise all day at 300mph.
That is a beautiful plane but I really don’t care for military aircraft with just a single engine :-/
I would have considered widening the rear section a bit and putting two, smaller engines back there.
If you took that design and built it with lightweight composite material it would be a great civil aviation craft.
Put a 350hp engine on it and I bet it could do 300mph.
950hp engine
It's just as fast as an Aerostar, and on just one engine.
1100 mile range, same as the Aerostar.
1760lb payload with full fuel...similar again to the Aerostar.
I want one of these :-)
BTW: If you want to see a great film with lots of footage of the Aerostar see "American Made" Tom Cruise has a multi-engine rating and did most of the flying himself. Sadly, the Aerostar 600 they used in the movie crashed near the set killing two people.
They crashed one Aerostar in the film, he landed on a city street to avoid DEA planes that were on his tail. They hit a tree and tore most of the right wing off...not too long after someone listed an Aerostar on Trade-A-Plane for a mere 89,000. In the damage history it said right wing replaced...lol 
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