A-22 Piranha and Russian Shtyk?
I recently ran across a warplane being developed for use by Turkey, in conjuction with Sadler Aircraft of the U.S. It is a small (roughly Beech Bonanza) sized twin tail pusher prop plane, with very good short field performance, folding wings, 1,000 pounds ordinance load, and very low fuel consumption. This is all great, if we're discussing WWII light ground attack- but what use could any aircraft such as this serve in a modern military? Would it be counter-insurgent, like the Bronco? And another one: I read in an Aviation History textbook that the Russians are invastigating partial ground effect craft, again, prop driven and quite small, called the "Shtyk". I found little on the Piranha, nothing on this one. I'm doubting that it even exists. Now, I'm a pilot but a lifelong civilian- why develop light prop planes today? Smaller than a Bonanza- looks like an EZ on steroids.
Public Comments
- Slow moving aircraft are great for observation and light air support, and especially handy if they require minimal maintenance, space, training and fuel. Such aircraft were especially useful in the Vietnam War for spotting enemy positions for artillery fire, and sometimes even suppressing enemy forces on the ground with bombs, rockets and machine guns. If an aircraft can fly slowly with stability, that gives its pilot plenty of time to target and strafe. I assume they're running on the assumption that they can protect the airspace they operate in with conventional fighters, or maybe even use them against opponents that have no real air force to begin with.
- Turkey does not really need a high tech planes full of electronics to fly the counter insurgency missions against Kurds. I'd suggest Argentinian Pucara twin engined plane to your attention. many air forces of today still are extremelly limited in their budgets and cannot afford the hitech craft like US does, neither seek their fortune in the hitech battlefields of the future.
