The North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco was developed in the 1960s as an aircraft for counter-insurgency combat. It is a twin-turboprop light attack and observation aircraft whose main role was as a forward air control aircraft. Introduced in October 1969, the OV-10 Bronco was primarily used by the United States Air Force, United States Marine Corps, United States Navy, as well as the Philippine Air Force.
The OV-10D version is a second-generation Bronco built under the Night Observation Gunship System program. This version was a much improved OV-10A airframe, incorporating a forward-looking infrared night vision system.
It was also fitted with larger engines and bigger propellers made of fiberglass. Seventeen OV-10D were converted from OV-10A. It has an external length of 13.41 meters, an external height of 2.5 meters, and a fuselage width of 1.2 meters.
The tail height is 4.62 meters and the wheelbase is 3.7 meters. It has a wingspan of 12.2 meters and a wing area of 27.03 square meters. The aircraft has an empty weight of 3,127 kg and a gross weight of 4,494 kg. The maximum takeoff weight is 6,552 kg. It has a maximum payload of 1,679 kg and a fuel tank capacity of 252 US gal.
The OV-10D is powered by two Garrett T76-G-420/421 turboprop engines. Each engine is rated at 1,040 shaft horsepower thrust and drives three-bladed Hamilton Standard constant-speed fully feathering propellers. The aircraft has a maximum speed of 250 knots at sea level.
It has a combat range of 198 nautical miles and a ferry range of 1,200 nautical miles with auxiliary fuel. The service ceiling is 30,000 feet and the rate of climb is 2,020 feet per minute. The take-off run is 226 meters, the take-off distance to 15 meters is 341 meters and at MTOW is 853 meters.
The landing run at MTOW is 38 meters. The aircraft could be loaded with a single 20 mm M197 electric cannon or four M60C machine guns and seven hard points; five on the fuselage and two underwing with provisions to carry combinations of 7- or 19-tube launchers for 2.75 in Folding Fin Aerial Rockets/2.75 in WAFARs or 2- or 4-tube launchers for 5 in FFARs or WAFARs, AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles on wings, and up to 227 kg of bombs.
