t-6 weaponized

[Maple]

http://forums.jetcareers.com/military-pilots/97177-6-texan-ii.html

[snacker]

Looks like a super Tucano to me. IN fact, looks like the Gringos are following the footsteps of Embraer to use light attack aircraft for counter insurgency in werever they have insurgency problems. Afganistan, Irak, Colombia, Congo,

[Speed]

Wow, those things are perfect! Think about how cheap they would be to build and operate- we could fill the skies with them. It's not like there's anything that the insurgents have that have a good chance at shooting them down, except the very few manpads they might or might not have left.

[Zaggy]

Yeah, I guess the USAF is missing the OV-10! And its not like mounting some explosive stuff on it will be hard; Pilatus designed the PC-9 with stores carrying capability, so one can only assume it was carried on into the T-6II and other evolutions (like PC-21, etc)...

My only concern would be (much the same as the RAAF FACDU/77Sqn PC-9's - but that is a slightly different role to that of a COIN strike platform) is what happens when the guys with AK's and Dishka's start putting rounds into the a/c? Its not like ANY PART of the airframe on the stanard T-6II is designed to take hits! I would assume the a/c would get a synthetic armour cockput tub, armoured glass, beefier airframes/system and of course, an uprated engine to push all that extra weight...

Still, I coudl quite easily see the thing carrying say 4x Hellfire's and some gun pods...