Explain this thing to me. How the fuck is it supposed to survive more than ten seconds on a modern battlefield? What’s the purpose of it or why they just aren’t buying more UAV’s?

And if the answer is just to feed the military industrial complex and line the pockets of rich investors…I dunno they could’ve spent a lot more money not just repurposing a cropduster airplane. This seems intentional, like somebody actually has an idea for how it’s supposed to be used. I just cannot figure it out—everything we are told about the future of combat is the opposite of this.

>>63846283 (OP)
It was a MIC sandbox brainrot invention for bombing tribal sand people in the middle east in a low intensity infinity war but we left the middle east before it was put into service.

>>63846289
OK then why not just more drones? Air Tractor is not a politically connected firm, they aren’t in the big bad club of defense playboys. L3 Harris is but they could’ve gotten an even bigger payday with UAV vaporware rather than this thing.

>>63846283 (OP)
You use it on cartel members or towelhead rebels in Africa

>>63846289
If only a new theater >>63843108 in the middle east were to open up to fulfill the endless need to fight sand people.

>>63846283 (OP)
Ah yes, the 'flying condo'
That's the neat part, it doesn't.

>>63846283 (OP)
Because its not for a modern battlefield.
Its for policing shitskins in shitskin territory who have nothing better than an AK at best.
They aren't meant to be facing anything more impressive than Tyrone and his glock.
The real issue is the sheer cost of these. They aren't as cheap as they look.

>>63846309
Iran, if it happened (which it won't [nothing ever happens]), would be a normal high intensity war bordering on a total war. The people there actually fucking hate us and would take up arms against a US invasion force. It would not be a shitty low intensity insurgency like Iraq. It would be fall of Berlin in the desert.

>>63846283 (OP)
>on a modern battlefield?
this is for low intensity COIN and police work in Africa where MANPADS are uncommon. The point is this is a predator drone with a pilot.

>>63846283 (OP)
It's for strafing mud hut dwelling niggers in Africa.

>>63846303
>OK then why not just more drones?
Politics, one would assume. Same reason why the Bronco flew for a while.
You can also sell these to your puppet regime and they can keep them maintained without diverting production from your actual arms companies.

>>63846337
They'll just fund ISIS. ISIS hates the Shias and need land to keep slaves anyway.

>modern battlefield
Like others have said, >implying

That aside, Zilinksiyiyiy expressed interested in buying the Super Tuc, but Ukraine was denied by the Huehues. I'm sure if the transaction happened, we would have had some Russians being BTFO'd by a cropduster.

The following is AI sloppa, but spans too many years for me to track down the sources:

In August 2020, the Ukrainian Air Force clarified that while the Super Tucano was evaluated as a trainer/light fighter aircraft to potentially replace their L-39 Albatros aircraft, it was not being considered as a replacement for their main combat aircraft like MiG-29 and Su-27 fighter jets. They stated that a foreign 4++ generation multi-role aircraft would be considered for that role instead.
Later Developments and Current Status:
In December 2022, Brazilian media reported Ukraine's interest in acquiring the Super Tucano for the Russo-Ukrainian War, but the sale was reportedly blocked by the Bolsonaro administration.
There were reports of a US diplomatic effort to unblock the deal with the incoming Brazilian President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
However, in June 2023, the CEO of Embraer's defense arm stated that there were no ongoing discussions with Ukraine regarding the Super Tucano sale.
More recently, in May 2025, Ukraine was mentioned as potentially considering the Super Tucano, alongside the AT-6, to combat drone threats efficiently. This suggests the possibility that interest may have rekindled.

>>63846337
Well if one thing can be learned by the russian invasion, every once in a while things do happen, and I believe that while the us does not plan to enter the conflict with boots on the ground, they will supply israel with a lot of rockets and bombs, which will force iran to ask themselves how credible their regime can be if they cannot fuck with america, while america is evidently supplying the bombs to fuck with iran.
I honestly think this might be a question of survival of the mullah regime. If they cannot save face somehow, they will lose everything because muslim society is built on honor and respect, and thus they have to do something to appear strong back home, no matter how pointless it is, and the more the usa gets involved the harder it will be to turn a blind eye on that.

I think that is also precisely what israel is playing at.

>>63846283 (OP)
It exists to doomp boombs on poor fucks without anti air or air support. Almost a modern stuka.

>>63846303
>OK then why not just more drones?

This one has a smaller, more classical technological footprint.

You need a lot of equipment and training to fly and maintain drones and their systems and sometimes you don't want that stuff in the hands of others either - I'm talking about communication systems mostly.

It's easy to deploy too - takes one day to disassemble so they can send it somewhere in a C-17, then another day to assemble. Everything is there, just fly it away and bomb sand people, cartel people, african pirates or whoever needs to learn a lesson.

Since it's a modified crop duster, you can even spray coca farms with it if you restore it to its original purpose.

Overall, think of it as tool that lets you do something right now instead of planning and asking for help from others.

I think it’s safe to say even experts don’t fully understand what would happen in terms of electronic warfare and the disabling, jamming & hacking of machines. The going sentiment seems to be that its a lot easier to disable your enemies expensive, complicated weapons than it is to protect them. In some future where spoofing and jamming are so ubiquitous, as well as there being no GNSS, it stands to reason that this thing would survive the same way a cockroach does.

It’s the most basic form of aerial life. They are used all over the world in agricutliure, maintained by unlicensed mechanics and flown by unlicensed pilots. Blindingly simple, man they don’t even tailwheel steering (its just a drop locking mechanism). They are obviously purposed built to live their entire aerial life less than 100’ AGL, which is probably too low for SAM’s (though does make them vulnerable to small arms fire). It can take off and land in less than a thousand feet, meaning a combat controller with a little cadre of these can probably do quite a bit of work since they can be staged only a few miles from the AO.

>>63846337
>The people there actually fucking hate us and would take up arms against a US invasion force.

This is debatable as there are plenty of suppression organizations in Iran, working to keep young people and their modern, liberal ideas in check.

>>63846283 (OP)
The combat caravan is way cooler

>>63846330
>They aren't as cheap as they look.
they're not that bad really. A 1970s built Cessna is still $170,000. This has a turboprop which can use kerosene mixed with diesel, gasoline or any burnable liquid as fuel and of course that really expensive ISR targeting pod and other military electronics and weapon pylons. If you were trying to build the same thing you'd be paying almost as much.

That said, small drones have really become amazing. With a generator, a few spare drones and a stack of batteries you can do 24hr ISR with a quadcopter or small fixed wing. Nano-long-range is an sub250gram 18650 3d printed fpv drone with a +2km range and 20min flight time from 2021.

>>63846283 (OP)
Its a hell of a lot cheaper to operate then A-10s and about as usefull on a modern battlefield.

OP here, wrong image.

>>63846283 (OP)
There isn't really a UAV equivalent for the OA-1K. The Reaper is the closest thing and costs similar amounts while having only ~65% of the payload and requiring 2 crew members to operate it. It also has been tested with JASSMs and Harpoons iirc so could be a platform to get those airborne. Overall it mostly exits because it's cheaper than trying to R&D another UAV of similar size with a similar logistics footprint.

>>63846468
Kek

You can’t hack a person

>>63846283 (OP)
>why they just aren’t buying more UAV’s?
Better payload.

>>63846538
>Laughs in LLMs making people schizo

>>63846392
Good boy, Jerimy.

>>63846468
Well at least they had the sense to cancel that thing before it caused any real damage.

>>63846283 (OP)
>What’s the purpose of it or why they just aren’t buying more UAV’s?
A man in the pilot seat > whatever sensor package you could put on a UAV.
The UAVs are then also better off used in more disposable roles, where it's not a big deal if it gets shot down.

>>63846468
>everyone knows infantry needs armored, mobile, direct fire support to actually get shit done in built-up terrain or against fortifications
>once again deny infantry their direct fire support
Just throw in MBTs into infantry units at this point.

>>63846370
>I'm sure if the transaction happened, we would have had some Russians being BTFO'd by a cropduster.

No lmao, you would have footage of a couple of cropdusters getting raped by NSVs or Kords because it's slow and with no armor whatsoever, before Ukie pilots nope the fuck out and flat out refuses to fly those shitboxes.

Don't get me wrong, I love counter-insurgency aircraft more than any other type of military aircraft, but they are fucking useless against anyone with something better than a PKM.

>>63846684

>>63846283 (OP)
It's really for anti-insurgency work. You fly the Super Tucano over vast, untamed wilds looking for insurgents in great, sweeping patrols.

>>63846692
Please tell me that that isn't a turkish shotgun

>>63846669
>A man in the pilot seat > whatever sensor package you could put on a UAV.
How is it going in the early 2000s anon?
You'll catch up with the rest of us eventually

>>63846704
A man in the pilot seat AND a sensor package > whatever sensor package you could put on a UAV.
I didn't mean to imply what you're implying.

>>63846709
>A man in the pilot seat
Literally just wasted space and makes the plane less aero/stealth
Wingman is the future minus the person bring the leader(you can use starlink if you really want)

>>63846692
You're going to have to provide source for that pic because helicopters don't usually survive direct contact with an enemy element in this war.

>>63846701
It's a Malyuk. Bullpup plastic body kit for AKs. I'm confused about it's use here because while the short length helps with manoeuvring it in the cockpit, the case ejection pattern should make shells bounce right in the face of the pilot.

>>63846722
You aren't going to have an aircraft fulfilling the niche of a Reaper or OA-1K that is anything approaching stealthy. The turboprop alone cuts down on maintenance massively but is a giant radar reflector

>>63846722
Against air and naval targets, sure, in more conventional air combat.
For CAS in potentially rough terrain, the situational awareness of a head on a swivel combined with the sensor suite is always superior than a sensor suite alone. That's what these aircraft are for. Cheap, loitering CAS that can stay on station for a good while.

>>63846735
>Anon doesn't know
It's pointless even bothering with you since your vision is tainted by our capabilities from the fucking 90s

>>63846727 (me)
I'm retarded. He's just shooting down a drone with a rifle, not shooting at personnel, so certainly far behind his own lines.

BTW so are you,>>63846692, for posting this as if it were a rebuttal.

>>63846727
>You're going to have to provide source for that pic because helicopters don't usually survive direct contact with an enemy element in this war.
That's not a helicopter.

>>63846745
>I'm retarded. He's just shooting down a drone with a rifle, not shooting at personnel, so certainly far behind his own lines.
>as if it were a rebuttal.
Bro, it has a red square highlighting the drone they're hunting.

>>63846684
Modern COIN aircraft have far more range than an NSV/Kord could reliably hit from unless you ambush it, which applies to anything not flying at 20,000 feet. Even something like APKWS has a range of 5+ miles of horizontal range if you're cruising at 10,000 feet. It would be unlikely to survive on the Ukrainian front due to MANPADS, not due to HMGs

>>63846744
Just because there's a high, doesn't mean there isn't a low too. A high-low mixture used in a mosaic warfare doctrine, enabled by AI systems, has a niche in it for an armed cropduster, whether you like it or not.
Getting an aircraft and its munitions on station to be employed accurately but also on the cheap, is exactly what you would want. For every F-35 or F-22, there's also an A-10 or a F-16.
With something like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Precision_Kill_Weapon_System, a cropduster becomes a genuinely capable system, with a very high readiness rate and mission capability.

>>63846744
In what fucking sense? You will not be manufacturing a useful reusable drone with a payload that matters for less than the cost of an OA-1K. A suicide drone? Sure, but that's not the same niche as something like this. An MQ-20 is already in the $30 million range without finishing develop and is the closest equivalent to what you would need, except it can only carry half the payload internally to maintain low observability. It's also going to require way more maintenance given that it has a jet engine and likely RAM coating. At the end of the day you end up paying more for a drone with less payload that is far more maintenance intensive and can't take off from more forward less prepared airfields

>>63846750
>red square
>red square
Do you take me for a communist ? I use a B/W screen.

>That's not a helicopter.
I mean that thing wouldn't get away either. It gets away with being flamboyantly painted because of it's low risk missions.

>>63846760
That's pretty cool, but when I think "planes that counter-insurgences" I think about a single-engined prop with wing-mounted guns between 7.62 and 20 mil, that skims the ground before emerging in front of the target to fuck it up then get the fuck away quickly, not some gaylord missile (I don't care what they call it, I know a missile when I see it) launched from BVR. That fucking lame and not badass at all.

Apparently they are struggling with training since this is the first military tailwheel in like fifty years. USAF has called in all these old cropduster pilots, it’s like a Micheal Bay movie from the 90’s. These things are notoriously tough to land in crosswinds.

>>63846337
>would be a normal high intensity war bordering on a total war. The people there actually fucking hate us and would take up arms against a US invasion force
post even one single shot down Israeli aircraft
their air defense is even more cucked than Russias

>>63846283 (OP)
Mogged by 9mm, SAD!

>>63846337
It would be 100% like Iraq, complete regime collapse in a month at most. And after might be even easier, Iranians are more civilized than Iraqis, they would be easier to pacify.

>>63846727
Looks like he's got a brass catcher on there

>>63846404
Id like to see a combat version of one of these bad boys

>>63847619
>It would be 100% like Iraq
so that means Iran doesn't have a nuclear weapons program because Iraq didn't have any weapons of mass destruction. and jewish zealost just want to use the us as cannon fodder against muslim zealots. cool.

These could be used to shoot Shaheds, right? If armed with APKWS, they seem like they wouldbe fairly effective in that role, and free up actual fighters for other things.

>>63848226
Yes but Ukraine wanted A-29Ns for that job

>>63848198
nobody said anything about wmd

>>63848198
Sorry what is this uncoherent nonanswer trying to say?

>>63848241
Makes more sense for their situation, US went with the Air Tractor because it has a domestic supply chain.

Because it is designed for low intensity stuff, for CAS for spooks and is designed to work in environments where other stuff is either overkill or too expensive. Why send an F-22 for air support for a spook meeting some drug king pin when you can have a turboprop circling for hours on end, can drop a 500lb bomb on the king pins house or car and then land on some jungle dirt runway and extract the spook?

Why is /k/ full of retards who think that all wars are high intensity peer wars where you gotta have cutting edge meme shit all the time. It's the same kind of retards that think the USAF would have no problem defending Taiwan when every aircraft bar the F-15EX and F-18 (carrier launched) will require in-air refuelling to reach Taiwan (from land bases) and have a short operating window... All of which requires tankers which is what China has designed their air force around destroying. Destroy the tanker, your fancy F-35's and F-22's can't enter the AO. So instead of designing a long range fighter craft, /k/ would demand you make some quantum shielded quantum crystal radar jet that has an operating range of 500km.

>>63848506
Also the AT is way better for the role. Its heritage as a workhorse in agriculture means its just up to getting the shit beaten out of it and absolutely worked.

>>63848562
I don’t think it even circles. I think it lands on a road or open field somewhere and just sits there until they need it. People operate these things out of their backyards off 1500 foot grass strips all the time.

I’m sure the military versions of these have dramatically increased fuel capacity (and I’ve known AT pilots to rig the hopper to hold fuel for long ferry flights) but still, they are not meant to circle for hours. The fly to the field, spray down the 800 or so gallons, then back to the airfield to replenish and refuel.

>>63846283 (OP)
>Explain this thing to me
ok. let's see if you can read

>>63848506
>US went with the Air Tractor because it has a domestic supply chain.
No. AFSOC wanted the A-29. The Air Tractor was chosen because it's not the AT-6. The competition came down to the A-29 and AT-6, two Republicans tried to stonewall AFSIC into acquiring the AT-6. AFSOC spited them and chose the Air Tractor.

>>63846283 (OP)
The Skyraider has an insane amount of loitering time, it can stay in the air for 12 hours or longer, it's insanely cheap to keep up there, its cost per flight hour is negligible, it can be outfitted with all sorts of weapons, and we're not always facing an enemy with MANPADs
If you're playing the waiting game with a bunch of towel wearing camel jockeys, sending one of these up instead of an A-10 is much cheaper, they can stay up there longer, and they have everything but that retarded autocannon.

>>63849328
These cuts are probably going to continue until there's nothing left

>>63846370
the super tucano isn't crop duster

>>63846684
>getting raped by NSVs or Kords because it's slow and with no armor whatsoever
Ukies want the A-29 to fly with their helos

>>63846679
Didn't the Marines used to do that before they got rid of all of their MBTs?

>>63849429
Also the domestic company who partnered with Embraer went full retard at the last moment, and decided to propose a twin-engined plane instead of the A-29.

Imagine buying a prop plane in the current century.

It was chosen for Afghanistan because in addition to being good at bombing people with only small arms very inexpensively it also poses no future threat to people with modern fighter jets.
Because when they turn against you, or as happened just end up in the hands of the enemy, it doesn't make them anymore dangerous.

The up front cost may be decent, but maintenance cost and complexity will also be very low.

Effective, cheap to operate, no threat to the first world when they fall into enemy hands or the ally turns into an enemy. A bunch of boy raping druglords were likely to turn into the enemy at some point even if they had held up against the Taliban.

>>63846289
I thought its intended use was against Cartels and what not in SA?

>>63850279
That was MIC cope when the middle east pull out was announced.

calm down, it will not be used on american soil.
police departments will not have a29

>>63850275

Basicly think of it as a police aircraft not a war tool.
In a place where the police kill you from the air when you act up. An authoritarian tool for use against the population when they rise up with guns.
Like an attack chopper but even cheaper to fly and maintain.
Imagine if instead of chasing a suspect all around until they t-boned some family, the police just straffed or bombed the vehicle. Especialy when the car being chased is loaded with armed jihadis or cartel enforcers.
That is how the third world does it, in addition to having mounted beltfeds on police cars. This is when those cars are not enough.

>>63850313

The way the taliban defeated them was to figure out where all the pilots lived and kill them on the ground, because they couldn't kill them in the air. So they were as effective as necessary.

>>63850271
the first hypersonic fighter will be a piston prop plane. jets are a meme.

>>63850330
>The way the taliban defeated them
Was to wait patiently until they went away