# Bronco II: South African made Mwari goes to the US.

- Link: https://www.military.africa/2018/03/bronco-ii-south-african-made-mwari-goes-to-the-us/
- Published: 2018-03-07T22:43:00+01:00
- Author: Darek Liam

# Bronco II: South African made Mwari goes to the US.

  |  [⌊Bronco II: South African made Mwari⌉](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_OhiCqE5iKQ/WqBgDjr4_vI/AAAAAAAABrA/m_FO-qEPKCU8_C4ytjiaMXDkU0do7KTcgCLcBGAs/s1600/1061911733.jpg) |  
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# Bronco II: South African made Mwari

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The United States has been on the search for new planes to fulfill it’s Low-Intensity
Combat Warfare (LICW) role, but as expected many foreign defense technology companies
offered their various designs. So far, the leading contestants in the program are
the Sierra Nevada/Embraer A-29 Super Tucano and the Textron Aviation AT-6. The Air
Force plans to purchase up to 300 aircraft.

The Bronco II is named after the** OV-10 Bronco**, a light attack and observation
aircraft used by the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Marine Corps as late as
1991’s Operation Desert Storm

 The Mwari is the militarized version of the AHRLAC (Advanced High-Performance Reconnaissance
Light Aircraft ) is a light reconnaissance and counter-insurgency aircraft made 
by AHRLAC Holdings, a joint venture between the Paramount Group and Aerosud in South
Africa.

## Mwari Aircraft

The Mwari is greatly suited for low-intensity warfare type of role being inexpensive
and capable. The Mwari was made specifically for the African market. It has a high
wing configuration and powered by a single Pratt & Whitney PT6-66B engine which 
provides 950 horsepower on a rearward facing propeller. Its top speed is 272 knots
and flies at a service ceiling of 31,000 feet

### Mwari Features

The aircraft is crewed by two personnel; a pilot and a Weapon Operator/Navigator.
A remarkable feature of the Mwari (**Bronco II**) is that it can stay aloft for 
more than 7 hours which is ideal when providing Close Air Support to ground troops
or when hunting for insurgents something that most jet-powered aircraft due to its
higher traversing velocity. This generally makes a jet fighter unable to stay over
a targeted area for long.

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  |  [⌊AHRLAC⌉](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xWKTlC4pabI/WqBpUWdaCPI/AAAAAAAABrU/00fz4-83k94JcXPKdO0nND1O1_OKNCVkwCLcBGAs/s1600/6110694_ahrlac3_jpeg20fd82083f91c7e91b350443bf1099773%255B1%255D.jpg) |  
 |  **AHRLAC** |

  |  [⌊Mwari⌉](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WEtj_oel2ZQ/WqBpdJQ-RHI/AAAAAAAABrY/xPae-0HGqBEGbX9FCQqTbUk--EUhXFmFwCLcBGAs/s1600/wp-image-490716378jpg%255B1%255D.jpg) |  
 |  Mwari |

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### Mwari Roles

It can also be used for maritime patrol and by law enforcement agencies to patrol
the borders and checkmate other social vices like drug smuggling, wildlife poaching,
human trafficking e.t.c

The Mwari **(Bronco II**) can also take off and operate from an unprepared airstrip,
it posses remarkable Short Takeoff and Landing capabilities, also it requires very
few ground crew or technicians to keep it shipshape. increasing the turnaround time
greatly. Furthermore, it has the lowest operations cost of all LICW aircraft on 
the planet.

## Bronco II

In March 2016, American aerospace firm **Boeing** announced that it had entered 
into a development partnership with Paramount with the aim of producing a militarized
version of the **AHRLAC**. Under this agreement, Boeing shall develop an integrated
mission system that will provide the **AHRLAC** with intelligence, surveillance,
and reconnaissance (ISR) and weapons system capabilities.

Paramount formed a US-based subsidiary with** Aerospace Development Corp (ADC)**,
the original supplier of the** AHRLAC** and a Virginia based group ‘_Fulcrum Concept_‘
to form the **Bronco Combat Systems (BCS)**. Fulcrum Concept would conduct weapons
and systems integration according to the customer’s specifications. The **Bronco
Combat Systems official** image was spotting a US Marine livery.

  |  [⌊AHRLAC⌉](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6migFKO63FU/WqBpejghVlI/AAAAAAAABrc/6UW9lslMTikXqeeSQxjDhDCEPFcoLjVgQCLcBGAs/s1600/wp-1487819049973-830x553%257E2%255B1%255D.jpg) |  
 |  **AHRLAC** |

According to Fulcrum Concept President Scott Richman, he said that the Bronco II
is a multi-mission aircraft with real-time C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications,
Computer, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) perfectly suited for Light
Attack Missions.

Paramount Group Chairman Ivor Ichikowitz said that

> **_“This is not simply an armed variant of a civilian crop duster or a modified
> aircraft,”_**

> **_“Every inch of this aircraft (Bronco II) is designed for purpose-specifically
> for the kind of asymmetrical warfare that sophisticated military forces are now
> being asked to conduct.” [sic]_**

It has been envisioned that the aircraft shall perform various mission roles, including
intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) and counter-
insurgency missions; coastal patrol, anti-smuggling, and disaster relief capabilities.

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The armed Mwari version is designed to carry a single 20 mm cannon, which is internally
mounted into the fuselage. Additionally, it is fitted with either four or six hardpoints
for carrying weapons mounted under the wings, including rocket pods, unguided bombs,
and various air-to-surface and air-to-air missiles.

Armor for the aircraft is also modular and can be added or removed entirely dependent
on the mission requirements.

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## OV-10 BRONCO

The OV-10 Bronco the Mwari (Bronco II) might replace was also a very successful 
unconventional aircraft built by the North American Rockwell.

  |  [⌊ OV-10 Bronco⌉](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UOVeNv9JJLw/WqBgDZsfwvI/AAAAAAAABq8/YP6qZxpRQSY7FdPZ_CayrsJ4KlzqOoGfwCLcBGAs/s1600/gallery-1457716531-ov10.jpg) |  
 |   OV-10 Bronco |

The OV-10 Bronco is a twin- turboprop light attack and observation aircraft. It 
was developed in the 1960s as a special aircraft for counter-insurgency (COIN) combat,
and one of its primary missions was as a forward air control (FAC) aircraft. It 
has seen widespread service around the world and is still being used today even 
as a frontline fighter aircraft by the Brazilian and the Philippines Air Force respectively.

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