Thanks to a newly released briefing, we can now reveal even more information about the pair of OV-10 Broncos that the U.S. Special Operations Command sent to Iraq to hunt ISIS. This includes information about the unique configurations of these Vietnam-era planes, such as their ability to track targets by homing in on cellphone signals and to share data across multiple networks. We also found out about the extensive testing that preceded their trip to the Middle East, and the lessons learned from employing a updated light attack aircraft on a modern battlefield. In July 2017, the Pentagon’s Joint Requirements Oversight Council formally directed U.S. Special Operations Command, or SOCOM, to conduct a “limited objective experiment” to see if a light turboprop aircraft could provide more flexible and responsive close air support and limited strike capabilities both when operating from remote or austere locations – or even an aircraft carrier, amphibious ship, or sea base – or in support of a larger force, according to the undated presentation, which we obtained via the Freedom of Information Act. The theory, which is one we have argued for more than once ourselves, was that such an aircraft could be a cost-effective tool for limited conflicts that would also free up far more costly higher performance or specialized aircraft from having to conduct these missions.

The aircraft would be focused on conduct counterinsurgency and irregular warfare missions working with both special operations forces and conventional troops. If possible, it would still be able to operate safely in contested or degraded environments and maybe even generate very little noise, enabling it to orbit discreetly above a specific target area for a protracted period of time. Optimally, it would have a mixture of weapons and sensors that would allow it “find, fix, and finish” the enemy independently in cooperation with other manned or unmanned aircraft and be easy to deploy and operate by a small number of personnel even with limited facilities and support. We know that when it came time for the final OV-10G+s to go down range, they did have an impressively small footprint that allowed them to quickly self-deploy from one location to another, even improvised airfields.

John Lequerica One of the two OV-10G+ aircraft.

This experiment, also known as Combat Dragon II, had been in the works since the late 2000s, having built off an earlier U.S. Navy project called Imminent Fury. The new test program had run into opposition from Congress owing to a political dispute over the preferred aircraft, the Brazilian-made EMB-314 Super Tucano. You can read about this particular saga in detail here.

SOCOM via FOIA A concept of operations for Combat Dragon II with silhouettes of OV-10 Broncos indicating the notional aircraft.

The project was always “aircraft agnostic,” according to the briefing, meaning that the chosen platform was not as important as testing the associated doctrine, tactics, and other procedures. SOCOM eventually decided to enter into a three-way partnership with the Navy and NASA to modify the pair of OV-10 aircraft into the new G+ configuration. “OV-10s did provide numerous capabilities,” the presentation notes. “However[, they were] primarily selected based on availability and no acquisition or leasing costs.”

SOCOM via FOIA

NASA agreed to turn over the Ex-U.S. Marine Corps planes, which it still has for aerospace research purposes, in exchange for the guarantee that it would get them back with all new glass cockpits and other basic improvements. You can read more about how that arrangement came to be here. The Naval Air Systems Command handled the modifications to the two aircraft, which cost approximately $20 million in total. This package included various sensors, weapons, and self defense systems, such as missile approach warning sensors and decoy flares.

NASA NASA's OV-10s in their D+ configuration in 1998.

The most obvious part of the sensor suite was the high-definition L3 Wescam MX-15HD sensor turret, which has electro-optical and infrared full motion video cameras, the ability to produce high-resolution still imagery, and a combination laser range finder and designator. The primary weapon during the aircraft’s deployment to Iraq was 7- and 19-tube rocket pods loaded with the highly accurate laser-guided 70mm Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II rocket, or APKWS II. As our own Tyler Rogoway wrote in 2016:

"The Broncos were used to find, fix and finish the enemy. In the past, this process was largely accomplished by at least two very different aircraft and platform communities, both of which usually had their own unique command and control structures. By condensing all the required capabilities into a single platform—the OV-10—the kill chain could be drastically compressed and save gobs of money in the process.



"The truth is, OV-10s weren’t really close air support aircraft in the traditional sense at all—they were manhunters."

But we now know the exact configuration of the amazingly intricate communications and data sharing system in each aircraft the truly allowed them to perform this mission. The planes had data links that could pass audio and video across four different network protocols, including Link 16 and Situational Awareness Data Link (SADL), both of which are common on many U.S. military tactical aircraft although rarely are they installed together on the same aircraft. The Advanced Networking Wideband Waveform (ANW2) typically found on ground vehicles was also installed on the Broncos.

SOCOM via FOIA